


The Man of Many Names

by Poodros



Category: RWBY
Genre: Original Character(s), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-11 10:41:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 26,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28469973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poodros/pseuds/Poodros
Summary: After the Fall of Beacon, while in the City of Vale the remaining staff were struggling to rebuild the academy, another, much smaller nation, took notice. While the other kingdoms struggled to get their act together against Salem, one started moving pieces from the shadows of a continent hidden in a land believed uninhabited by all of them: The Commonwealth of MaelstromAs a preamble I couldn't include in FF.net, this work is meant to work more as a fan theory to fill the void that has been left since the beginning of the series. What is the dragon shaped continent? What is its name? What does it have in it?It contains original characters almost in its entirety, as I most of the times take the occasional liberty of including a small reference to one or more characters or events from the seriesAs a couple of additional tips. One, the narrative isn't exactly linear. It jumps back and forth within the timeline of RWBY which will be something you will notice. Two, Be aware that this work will contain actions way more serious than that shown in the series up to this point, portraying actions such as, but not limited to: Physical/Psychological Torture, Extreme Violence and Brain Washing, etc...
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Many times one stops to look at the mirror and expects to see one self. What would you do if it looked like you, and you knew it was you...but it was someone else who was reflected in the mirror?
> 
> I assume you came to the summary looking for a shortcut or a way to summarize the start of the story. I'm afraid there are no shortcuts in this maze. You and I are trapped in here. But that isn't the matter in question, but rather how long will you be accompanying me in this place.
> 
> So...If we're going to have this be the beginning of the story then allow me to try and show something that even remotely resembles a proper beginning, as if amongst all the chaos you will find such a thing
> 
> There it is. In all its glory. I hope you enjoy it

It was a night like any other in Vale. On the roads deep within the Emerald Forest, an individual would calmly walk, brandishing a cloak as black as the night sky above him. His face was covered by the shadows and no word would come out of his mouth.

After the Fall of Beacon, while in the City of Vale the remaining staff were struggling to rebuild the academy, another, much smaller nation, took notice. While the kingdoms of Vale, Vacuo, Atlas and Mistral were the 4 major powers in Remnant, there was one that, from the shadows, planned their downfall.

The Commonwealth of Maelstrom. Located on a land that all other kingdoms believe to be uninhabited and had forgotten about long ago. Unlike the other continents, they do not possess any advanced technology...at least not of their own

Lost between the now-derrelict Domain of Light and the Land of Darkness, the people in Maelstrom do not exist for the rest of the Kingdoms, and as such have had to raise themselves on their own

One of these people being the person now walking right in the middle of the Emerald Forest, seemingly with no destination in mind, until, after some time, he notices some bandits hidden between the trees, believing that they would not be seen

As the moonlight finally breaks through the leaves, it is revealed that this person wasn't covering their face with just the cloak on their head. They also brandished quite the particular mask.

This mask was completely plain. It was devoid of anything that resembled a human face. It was flat and the only color that stood out from the plain metallic black was the color of the metal itself peeking out from carvings made on the mask made to resemble a horrifically deformed smile

As the person kept on walking, the bandits revealed themselves one by one, standing in front of him

The person would calmly stop as the rest of the bandits came out

"Hey, you. Going somewhere?" Asked one of them, in a pretty confident tone, as he always did when trying to rob somebody.

The person simply didn't respond and just...stood there, motionless

"Hey, Jay is talking to you, you better answer" Replied his partner, putting up the façade of being angry. This, however, didn't seem to shake the person standing in front on them

After a couple of silent, awkward minutes, one of the bandits loses their patience and pulls out a machete while walking to the person

"Nice cloak you got there. Who made it? Your grandma?" The bandit said, waving the machete around in an attempt to startle the person in front of them. Just as before no reaction

But once the robber was in sprinting distance from them, he jumped right in for the kill. The person then threw one solid punch right into the robber's abdomen, punching out all the air from him. And then, the robber let out one scream of agony as the person under the cloak punched his way through his chest, his metallic arm coming right out the other side.

And then, a chaotic retreat ensued. As Jay ran into the forest, he heard one scream after another until suddenly all he could hear was the wind hitting his face as he ran...and then...that wind stopped, just as he turned around, he was lost deep within the woods, certainly nowhere around the main camp as he wasn't able to see any lights. Then, he turned around.

The next morning, Raven Branwen and some of her henchmen were searching for a lost party that didn't return the previous night. Deep within the forest, she heard her henchmen scream as they described a scene of nightmare. After following them, she couldn't believe her sight

All 6 bodies had one giant hole right in the middle of their chests.

Somewhere away from the Emerald Forest, in a village within the Kingdom of Vacuo, the dark figure would enter a local inn

"Hello, good ..." said the innkeeper, being unsure on how to follow due to the dark figure's mysterious appearance

Then, the person under the mask would reply

"Sir" They said in a tone that clearly didn't belong to a normal man or woman. Unlike the normal human voice, their voice was...gutural, unnatural. Like if they had been stripped of their vocal chords. The person nods after that reply

"Good sir...How may I help you?" the innkeeper replied, doing their best to hide their obvious concern

"A drink will do for now. Ginger can do " The person replied, this time showing a more masculine voice tone, with a very deep voice

After some time, the innkeeper would bring the man a glass of Ginger

"There you go. Anything else I can help you with? That sore throat from before sounded very serious"

The man would grab the glass of Ginger and take a sip after lifting their mask a little

"It's okay. Actually, I'm assuming I can stay here for the night so how much will it be?" The man said in a rather calm tone, while pulling out some Lien from an unseen pocket under the cape

"And another thing. How are things in the City of Vale? I heard they had a Grimm Attack, while others say it was the White Fang. I'm not...very good at staying up to date" The man said, faking ignorance

"Well. They aren't very good. Without Beacon Academy, there are no communications and the blocks closest to the ruins have been blocked off. Apparently that...giant stone thing frozen on the top of the ruins attracts the Grimm to it so there are Huntsmen stationed in the City" said the innkeeper

"Well. That sure is a bugger" the man replied and then continued

"So. About staying. Anywhere I should sign?"

"Yes. Let me get your name first, so I can fill in the list quick" the innkeeper said, as she looked inside a drawer for something

"You're renting to Gary..." The man stops for a couple seconds

"Gary ...Carton" He then continued

"Gary ... Carton...Alright, then it will be 500 Lien. Will you stay just for tonight?" Asked the innkeeper

"Yes. Just tonight. Where's the room, sorry?" Gambit then left some more Lien as pay and got up from his chair

"Upstairs. It's that...blue door over there" The innkeeper pointed out. She then took the pay and went to attend other clients while "Gary" went upstairs and into the room

Once in the room, he locked the door behind him and sat on the bed, where he pulled out a relatively new but very damaged picture, with some scrapes and scratches and a couple of traces of blood. In the picture, there were other figures in cloaks, wearing different masks, with him standing all the way to their right, wearing a bright black mask. Written in marker, there were letters written on top of each member's head.

**G M B T**

The man had written B on his head in the picture. Then, he turned the picture around to read a worn out message written in pencil

_Balisong, if we never see each other again, I wish you the best on your life as the new Gambit_

_-Minerva_

After reading the message quickly, Gambit simply kept the picture back into his pocket and went right into sleeping


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I wonder what the value of life really is. What gives it the value we have assigned to it. What makes it so precious and unique  
> I sometimes answer that query on my own. Sometimes the force of circumstances answers it for me. Sometimes the answer isn't one I like
> 
> But every time the answer is the same. Life is valued because it is hard to find it twice
> 
> Don't get me wrong, life isn't precisely "unique" and irreplaceable as the other guy put it just above
> 
> There is only a limited amount of emotions one can express and a slightly less limited array of feelings one can experience. But just as strategies in a game of chess, you eventually reach a finite amount of combinations.  
> Find the right combination and you can eventually replace a person, even if they don't look anything like you had associated the personality with before
> 
> But...this isn't precisely a good moment to speak about the value of life. This is...about what the lives of others can do in us....or at least I would assume

It was a cold, freezing day in one of the several fjords of Solitas, far away from Mantle, where only the Ice Grimm and some unlucky Atlas scouts would live. Right next to the mountains, an Atlas Robotic Recon Unit would be wandering about until suddenly they wouldn't be doing so anymore after some loose shots traversed the wind. And out of the snow, 4 caped figures emerged, all in black capes

"So...Balisong was it?" Said the one wearing the gray mask, with only a poker club under the right eye in it

"Yes, Gallium. It's Balisong" Responded the one wearing a brand new black metallic mask, to then continue

"Well. You are a very good marksman for someone named after a knife" Replied the one wearing a white mask, which only had the lips being red, like if it had lipstick

"Shut up, Telerium" Replied the one wearing the typical theatre mask, the one with 2 expressions

"Fine...So, lets just get on with it. I'm going to end up with hypothermia here" said Telerium

After that short interchange the 4 caped figures quickly removed all the microchips and processors from the robotic units then hid the bodies in the snow. After that, they started to proceed on foot, Balisong on the back

"So. Balisong. I'm assuming you have already undergone the tradition, right?" replied the one wearing the two-faced mask

"Yes...Minerva, why do you care so much about me?" said Balisong

"Because you remind me of someone special. You may not notice but you're...kind, in a way" she responded

"How am I kind? I'm a Reaper like everyone here"

"That, Balisong, is what you're getting wrong. Tell me, what do you feel when you kill people?"

"It always depends. If it's a job...I sometimes wish I didn't have to. Others I do. It depends on how am I feeling, along with which side of...my coin I'm in"

"Well. How about...when it isn't a job?"

"I hate it. Even when I have to do so, I hate it"

"And...why do you hate it?"

"Because I'm not only...ending someone that doesn't need to. I'm ending what they meant for others. Even if they deserve to end prematurely, I just can't help it but worry about the people they are connected to"

"Then...what about these robots we just dismantled"

"They are machines. Their only connections were maybe with their field tech"

"Yeah...Only with their field tech I guess. Well...Guys"

"What? You better not stop us for foolish stuff, we're almost at that outpost over there" Said Gallium

"Well. I guess I will tell you at the outpost" replied Minerva

After that quick exchange, they would all travel silently towards an abandoned Atlesian outpost. There was only a tent and a small charging battery for the robots. The engineer wasn't anywhere to be seen, and there weren't any lights on

"Something's wrong. Balisong" said Telerium

Balisong caught up to Telerium, now being right ahead of everyone

"Something's fishy about this place. Can you scout it?" he asked.

Balisong then immediately aimed down the sights of his sniper rifle right at the camp. It wasn't empty. There was somebody crawling around towards the tent, but it didn't look like an Atlesian Hunstman or any sort of Atlas Robotic Soldier

"Must be an unlucky field tech. What should we do?" asked Balisong

"Kill him. You know the mission" said Gallium

"Wait. We could use him to try and find more intel on these new Atlesian robots" said Minerva

"What if he doesn't cooperate?" said Gallium in response

"We will get that field tech to cooperate. Let's go" said Minerva

Everyone walked straight forward, Balisong once again at the back of the group. While he caught up, Minerva passed him a folded picture

"Don't open it yet. Open it once we're all in a more...private place. Don't tell anybody" she whispered

Some minutes after, they would get a better picture. They found out that an Ice Apathy was wandering the camp. The Team immediately went into full combat stance. Balisong readied an special bullet while the rest of team GMBT went in right against the Apathy

Minerva was the first to land a hit, slashing the creature with one wide slice of a Machete then landed a second cut and dashed away. Gallium followed in with one quick punch of his Brass Knuckles, and then, Telerium would continue with one slam of his Spiked Mace at the creature.

The 3 of them would hit in perfect synchrony. Slash, punch, Slam, one after the other, quickly leaving the Grimm out of options

And then, the Apathy attacked back with a scream that made the field tech twist in pure pain, but the 4 caped figures didn't even flinch. And then...the Apathy vanished after a single shot

"Can't drain any willpower if you don't have any left" said Balisong as he caught up to the team

"Remind me to tell Team CORE that the Dark Energy fields work incredibly well" said Minerva

Minerva went for the field tech while Balisong caught up with the others

"He's still alive" said Minerva, but then was greeted by a tazer to the neck

The field tech had obviously saw a nightmarish thing after regaining consciousness. A bandit rescuing him, a glorious Atlesian soldier, after having ripped off the processors of HIS robots?! no siree

"Oh great" said Gallium, as he prepared to attack

The field technician quickly got up

"Who on Solitas' snow ridden plains are you?! Why are you carrying Atlas Military Property?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY COMBAT UNITS?!" yelled the field technician to them

"Woah, easy there. We didn't do anything. We found them adrift in the snow and decided to rip these off them since they ran out of power. If you want them back you can have them" said Telerium, holding Gallium back, as Gallium was up to kill the field tech

"Lying. You're lying! All of you Mantle lowlifes are the same, aren't you?!" angrily replied the field technician, aiming his tazer at the group

"Dude, what the hell is your problem? That's just inconsiderate, we save you from that Grimm" said Telerium

Before the field tech could respond, Minerva knocked him out with the machete's handle

"We should take him into that tent" she said

After some time, the field tech would wake up tied to a chair, while the 4 caped figures stood still in from of him

"Argh. What are you doing?! Don't you realize I'm an Atlas Field Technician, you peasants?! Release me at once!" he replied, obviously angry

"Not until you help us with something" said Balisong

"Well, whatever it is, I don't know, now let me-"

Gallium immediately throws a punch at him

"Sorry, buddy. We never said it was an option" said Telerium

"What can you tell us about Arthur Watts?" said Minerva

"Watts? He is dead! The man has been dead for years" yelled the technician

"Not quite..." she replied, after which she showed a picture of someone in a purplish attire purchasing something from an Atlesian Navy Officer

"This was taken some time after the Highway incident in the City of Vale. That's his signature on the suitcase he is carrying. What can you tell us about Arthur Watts?" she asked again, still calmed

"This isn't real. I don't know anything, I never worked with him"

"Anyone you know that has worked with him?" asked Gallium, holding another punch ready

"Yes. My superior...He is in Mantle...He reports to that...old guy, Polen-whatever, I can't pronounce his name correctly"

"And has your boss ever shared any details about what he reports?" asked Balisong

"Yes...About my research here in the Fjords about robotic performance in sub zero temperatures"

"This place can reach sub zero temperatures?!" said Telerium

"Only during certain times. This one is actually one of the warmer periods, so I was bringing my units back...until SOME MANTLE LOWLIFES DESTROYED MY ROBOTS AND KIDNAPPED ME!" replied the field tech, only to get another punch from Gallium, who was already getting angry

"Well. Now, does this...place have any means of returning to Mantle?"

"Yes...A truck. I have the keys to it in my pocket. If you want I can get you to Mantle and..."

Before he can continue, Gallium snaps his neck

"There. We have what we wanted, we can leave right?" he said

"HE DIDN'T HAVE TO DIE, GALLIUM, WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!" said Balisong

Balisong was going to walk up to Gallium but Minerva stopped him in time

"People..." she said to then continue

"Quit fighting...Gallium, what you did was wrong. We could have made more use of him alive"

"I apologize...I thought...we were done with him...and so I proceeded to eliminate evidence"

"Just...Take the keys of his pocket and lets just leave"

After that, Minerva goes outside to begin piling up the corpses to burn them. After that, everyone just directly heads for the truck where they start heading towards Mantle. Balisong and Minerva are sitting in the back, with Balisong being strangely calm.

"Are you-" says Minerva, but gets interrupted

"I'm fine..." replies Balisong coldly, looking away from her

"Balisong...Tell me what is wrong"

"I'm fine, Minerva, alright?!"

"That doesn't sound like fine to me. Any troubling thoughts?"

"If I tell you will you stop asking?"

"Yes"

"Fine"

Balisong pulls out an older picture. In it, there's him, but he isn't wearing a cape. He's wearing fully black combat armor and a bandana with some goggles. Next to him are 3 other people, wearing normal green military uniforms, the standard issue for the Royal Army of the Commonwealth, and helmets

He is standing left to the group, and everyone else is right of him. He has a B written above his head, while the other's initials have been underlined with said marker. Altogether they form the following team

**B L S G**

"I was part of one of the Huntsman teams that was sent to the Marshlands, east of the Commonwealth"

Minerva then simply places her hand on her shoulder

"Give me the picture I gave you" she says, to which Balisong complies by handing her the still unseen picture

Minerva writes something quickly and then hands the picture back to him

"I hope...you stay as Balisong...I wish...you never have to go through that again" she says with a bit of a short breath

"Yeah. I wish that too..." He replied back

And after that exchange, the truck simply continued off through the frozen plains of Solitas


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now. Speaking about the value of life....What about when it is lost? What does it look like when someone leaves aside of their bodies being injured beyond any feasible repair. What does it feel like?
> 
> I can tell. It looks....horrible at first. You feel the impact that their absence has. The emptiness of the void they once were filling
> 
> But then, as time passes, it slowly loses its impact to the point that their names get immediately wiped from your head. Erased. Placed in the deeper reaches of your subconscious where you will never think of them again
> 
> Eventually, you won't even need to remember them anymore. Assuming you are able to remember after what happened

The City of Vacuo. One oasis in the middle of the desert...Or at least so it would seem

With the amount of improvised structures, it is hard to believe that this is the city to have the Relic of Destruction buried somewhere in it. But that wasn't a worry. Not for Gambit

"Hey. Gambit" said a mysterious woman that walked up behind them casually

"Oracle." they said, in their usual somber, gutural tone to then nod

"So. Today you're..."

"A she" replied Gambit, hissing a bit after responding and then continuing

"So. How is everything with Psyche?"

"We are alright. He just secured the new house's land ownership with the Ministry. We should be good to move to Trolesund after...well, everything"

"I'm glad for you..." said Gambit. They weren't exactly good at keeping conversations

"Fine. Come on, lady anti-social. You may not mind, but I really wouldn't like to be standing out here in this damn dune right outside of the City. Let's go, Medea and Numerian will have to catch up, because they are late" said Oracle, then proceeding to sprint full on, with Gambit catching up quickly

"So. Relic of Destruction. The sword that can destroy anything its blade touches..." says Oracle, in a manner similar to a lecturing

"Yeah, I know already. Thing is. We need to find the Summer Maiden to get it. And I don't think that the people in Shade will make it anywhere easy. That woman from the Darkness Derrelict is basically preparing very hard to go for the Relic at Atlas as we speak and apparently her goons already managed to get their hands on the Relic of Knowledge" says Gambit

"Wait, what?! Okay, screw it. Just...be loud, break things...be...the Gambit that scares people" says Oracle, preparing something under her cape

"Fine. Just don't take too long" says Gambit, preparing her signature weapon, an Assault Rifle

"Guess I'm going to be using the Crownbreaker today" said Gambit, switching to a deeper male voice as he loaded the weapon and did the proper preparations

"Don't push it too hard. You know what happens" says Oracle, before splitting off, while Gambit starts sprinting head first towards the main gates of Shade Academy, Crownbreaker in his hand and a prepared grenade in the other

Gambit stops sprinting and throws the grenade, sending it right past the gates, breaching his way inside, raising every possible alarm. Right after that, a smoke cloud follows, allowing Gambit to walk in without the risk of being right in the open to any Huntsman

Team SSSN was training, trying to help Neptune with his fear of water but then the alarms started ringing, which sent Sun and his team running around the campus, trying to figure out the emergency, until, from one of the windows, they saw a black caped figure dispatching Vacuo Huntsmen without any possible effort

"Dude, what the hell?!" said Neptune to Sun

"Umm...I think someone's looking for a fight here" said Sage

"I don't know. But this only means that whoever attacked Beacon is now coming for us" Sun replied

"Come on, we can't let some random stain Vacuo" said Sun, guiding his colleagues

After some running, Team SSSN would reach a scene nowhere short of nightmare. Everyone he once had seen fighting in the main entrance, trying to repel the mysterious intruder, was now lying apparently dead on the ground, the black figure walking amongst the dead, without showing any sort of emotion about it

"Hey! You, the one with the ugly...face" said Sun, trying to taunt Gambit, feeling confident, but hiding his fear and concern

"Dude, Sun, are you insane?! That ¿man just killed every Hunstman lying around you!" Said Neptune, evidently scared but rifle in hand

There, Gambit would notice

"Really poor choice of words...banana boy" Gambit replied, removing his cowl, revealing that not only do they wear a mask, beneath the mask, he has clothing covering the rest of their head

"What did you just say? Can't hear you with that piece of metal over your..."

Then, Gambit would be standing right in front of Sun, right in the middle of Team SSSN

"Banana boy" replied Gambit a bit louder, to then immediately do a full 360° swipe kick, kicking everyone off balance. While Sun regained it, he still took one demolishing knee-slam to the stomach, while Neptune, Sage and Scarlet where kicked away

"Out of everyone else lying dead in this place, you're actually the first one to try and taunt me. I will give you that. But words won't cut it with me" said Gambit, as she rushed in to try and get the easy kill on Sun, but she miscalculated, with Sun pulling out Ruyi Bang right on Gambit's face, only missing as Gambit dodges with a backflip at the last second.

Right after landing, Gambit starts to deflect Sun's attacks with inhuman precision. Neptune, barely able to stand up, pulls out Tri-Hard, putting it in its gun mode, trying to aim for Gambit, having a difficult time with Gambit's seemingly erratic fighting style, Gambit twisting and even contorting their body beyond what was humanly possible with every parry, counter and attack

"What the hell are you even doing here?! Are you with the White Fang?! Trying to do more damage like at Beacon?!" screams Sun, trying to get something out of Gambit, slowly getting overwhelmed by such a strange rival

"No. What I'm doing here is what any other Huntsman or Huntress would much probably do. Wet work" replies Gambit, to finally find an opening on Sun and, using a hidden butterfly knife under his sleeve, landing a stab close enough to Sun's liver

"AAAARGH!"

"Sun!" yelled Neptune, taking the chance to shoot, only for him to not only miss, but to see that the caped figure grabbed his shoot mid-air with a prosthetic arm

"Close enough..." said Gambit, dropping the bullet on the ground

Sun is gasping on the floor, more from the force of impact that the stab had than the wound proper. Sun still had the butterfly knife in him when Gambit approached him, Neptune too shocked to even aim properly at him.

Gambit pulled out the knife from Sun's gut but just as he prepared to stab him again...She nodded

"Hmm. So Sun...You make a good fighter. But you still are years of training away from being a proper Hunstman..." says Gambit, as she puts her cowl back on and starts walking away, having received the confirmation from Oracle that she found the Summer Maiden

As Gambit walked away, Sun would twist on the ground out of not only the pain of the wound itself, but also trying to catch his breath as the air had been punched out of him

"Consider yourself...unfortunate" she says, slowly headed towards the main building of Shade Academy


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The subject has been successfully implanted the knowledge to encrypt and decrypt their own memories whenever convenient. Whatever happens during the conflict, he is sure to not speak, Your Excellence
> 
> Good. Give them a few moments....Let them rest. Then we can inform them of the success in the procedure and give them the upcoming orders

Down the hallways of Shade Academy, students were running, while professors were doing the best they could to try and stop the mysterious assailant that had just breached their front door. Emphasis on try

Meanwhile, another hooded figure was lurking around in one of the terminals within the academy

Oracle was just done cracking the information, now leaving behind a sort of "self destruct" protocol, in order to avoid spoofing her escape by leaving traces of her presence

"You clearly had the worst plan if you thought that allying with Gambit for this was going to help you" said a hooded figure behind her

"Not now, Psyche. I'm busy" Oracle replied back, in a neutral tone, giggling under her breath a bit

"Hey. Busy or not, you and I are still on the same team, geek" said Psyche with an obvious familiarity

"Yeah. And the same goes for Gambit in this operation. They...she is doing her part, let me do mine" she replied back

"Oh. Gambit's a she today? Can't tell with that scrappy voice she carries with her while off-duty" said Psyche still in that smug tone

"Psyche. You know the cause of that" Oracle replied, back to her neutral tone

"Yeah. Sorry, sorry. But. You found the Summer Maiden?" said Psyche, showing evident hurry and expectative

"Yes. Where are Medea and Numerian? Did they get back to you?" said Oracle with a bit of concern but then returning to work

"Dead. They didn't make it to Vacuo. The thirst and some Grimm beat them somewhere in the desert. Last they communicated with me was to ask for reinforcements. Found their bodies buried head first in the sand" said Psyche with a slight bit of sorrow in his voice

"Well...That's ... unfortunate. Did you bury them properly?" said Oracle her voice still neutral as she was concentrated on the work at hand

In response, Psyche shows Oracle a couple masks. Oracle takes the one on the right and keeps it under her cape

"Ah. I hope this whole Relic hunt thing makes it worth the sacrifice" she says as she quickly closes every window and wipes the terminal she was working on of any trace of her presence

Oracle and Psyche head out of the server room and start wandering around, but then get intercepted by a Faunus Rabbit Huntress

"Oh great. More interruptions" said Psyche, with his smug tone

Psyche jumps forth to fight, while Oracle falls back and deploys a flying drone she controls from her pad, which isn't anything that resembles the normal scrolls of any of the kingdoms

"Who are you?! Why are you attacking Shade?!" asks the Faunus, putting up a good fight against Psyche's Scythe

"None of your business, girlie. I suggest you do like the students here and run"

"You people are with the White Fang, aren't you"

"The White Fang? You think we would ally with those losers?"

"Who else if not the people that destroyed Beacon?!" exclaimed the Faunus Huntress, before being expelled by Psyche's Scythe switching into a Kusagirama, a scythe attached to a weighted chain

But then, the Faunus, instead of charging back in, makes room for what appears to be her partner, a Huntress carrying a suitcase

"Oh. Great. You brought your friends. Just what I needed. Oracle, you really aren't helping" said Psyche, pulling another smug comment

"Oh. Sorry, I was kind of busy enhancing your senses" she replied in her more casual tone

Then, the Huntress turns her suitcase into a minigun

Meanwhile, Gambit had reached the Headmaster's Office, where he would obviously encounter them

"So. Headmaster Theodore, am I correct?" said Gambit, gently opening the door to the Headmaster's office

"Yes. Who's asking? Salem?" replied Theodore, in a very calm, "cool guy" like tone

"You mean the woman from the Darkness Derrelict? You really think I work for a derranged maniac like her?"

"What? The Darkness what? You must be confused buddy, the Land of Darkness may be what you are looking for"

"Are you seriously telling that to a local from the region, Headmaster?"

Theodore then would drop his normal, calm expression to reflect some genuine amusement

"Local from the region? You're from the Land of Darkness?!"

"Cold. Guess again"

"No way...There's no way, that whole continent is uninhabited"

"That's what all of the 4 Kingdoms believe" said Gambit, preparing the Crownbreaker beneath the cloak

"What we believe?! It is uninhabited! Nothing can live in there!"

Then, Gambit jumps to the attack, obviously getting blocked by Theodore's gloves

"And you would be right...if only we were made of nothing"

After that, Gambit bounces off and starts shooting at Theodore from door of the office, Theodore deflecting with almost perfect precision

Gambit would switch the Crownbreaker into a sturdy tonfa blade, with which he would engage in close combat with Theodore. Both fighters throw their punches and kicks with perfect precision, only to get blocked by the other in time, but with each time Theodore parried, his aura weakened, while Gambit's only got stronger, nullifying any damage that Theodore dealt

"What the hell kind of Semblance is this?!"

Gambit would land and switch the Crownbreaker back to the Assault Rifle form and get in a position that looked like he would rush back in to the fight

"If only it was my true Semblance..."

Theodore then rushed right into Gambit, but Gambit instead immediately jumped over Theodore, with Theodore crashing face first into Oracle's support drone shooting a barrage of rubber bullets into him

Paired with the impact of Gambit's rubber bullets, Theodore was knocked out immediately

"Oracle"

The drone returns to Oracle, with her moving her head sideways

"Oh...Then...Pigmallion...I guess"

Pigmallion then nods, the masks of Psyche and her other 2 partners hanging off her bag

"Well. Let's make sure we come out of this place alive so that your partners have a proper funeral. Where's the Summer Maiden?"

Pigmallion then guides Gambit to one of the classrooms, where a student is lying, both arms impaled to the chalkboard, presumably by Pigmallion herself after the fight she had

"She was hiding here. I had found her running around after...Psyche died"

"So. Summer Maiden...Looks like she's still alive"

Gambit removes their cape, revealing a big backpack and his metallic arm. They start walking towards the Summer Maiden. She wakes up

"Ughh...Mister...Theodore...wait...Who are you?! WHY AM I LIKE THIS, WHAT IS HAPPENING?!"

Gambit would choke the Summer Maiden with their metallic arm, then, using her other arm she would slowly remove her mask

"Sorry. But your time with this power is over"

As the Summer Maiden was slowly stripped of her power and saw the face of Gambit, she couldn't help it but to let out one scream of horror before dying


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes....we need to go back to a place where we can recharge our batteries and cool down. To get a breather and try to find new approaches to things
> 
> Other times we go because we have to. Because if not, something bad will happen when we inevitably do go back
> 
> What if that places wasn't real for anybody but you? What if that place where you find comfort also happens to poison you?

A fisherman was somewhere right by the shores of a coast village in Mistral, when suddenly, a couple of strangers would come rushing into his boat. One of them shows heavy bleeding, but both of them are masked and wearing very strange cloaks

"Sir! Excuse me. Sir, can you help us?" said the woman, carrying the obviously injured person

"Umm...Yes, how so? Your...friend looks really badly injured" he replied

"We need to go somewhere. Genus. Can you take us there?"

"Are you insane? Your friend will die if we don't take him somewhere appropriate, and Genus isn't the best of places to be when you're bleeding that badly"

"Just...take us to Genus. How much can we pay you?"

"Well, a trip so long won't do with my boat, but I can get you to Vacuo. Once there you can get to Genus, but even then, I doubt your friend will make it"

"I will treat him in the boat"

"Fine. It will be...some 7000 thousand Lien. It is still one long ride"

The woman gets on, dragging her companion with her, handing the fisherman only 3500

"Hey, this isn't-" the fisherman was saying, but gets interrupted

"Half now, half on Vacuo"

"Fine"

Once in Vacuo, the mysterious pair paid off the fisherman, who returned to Mistral, while both of them resumed their trip on foot. They were walking around the shore for a while, until they found an strange sight. Atlas operatives. An Atlas Sea Vessel

"And what are those doing here? This is way too far from Solitas for the Atlesian Military to be" said the woman

"Argh. Minerva. You said it. It's Atlas. They probably are just running some deep cover operation or something, so lets just...you know...use the chance?"

"Balisong, you're in no condition to "use the chance". You can only make use of one of your arms right now"

"Not the first time I'm this bad, trust me. Now, you see that sea vessel right?"

"Balisong..."

"Minerva, no. You may be the team leader but right now, our priority is to return to the High State to inform them about what we found"

"Ah. Fine. Just...don't engage"

The duo would patiently wait until nighttime and slowly start crawling towards the Atlas Sea Vessel

"Minerva. I found it, the electric panel"

"Good. Can you hack it?"

"I can try. It will take me some time"

Balisong pulls out a small improvised touch pad from within his cape, obviously having the struggle of doing everything with only one hand

"Ah...It will take time to train ambidexterity again. Minerva..."

Minerva quickly helps Balisong all set up, after which he starts diligently doing his part, passing in command after command into the console, one key stroke after the other

"I really need to retrain my ambidexterity"

"Balisong. Don't do that. It's not healthy"

"Nothing really is. And...got it"

Balisong would succeed on hacking it, but a platoon of soldiers would immediately begin running towards them. Unlike other Atlas military operations, this one in specific didn't have any Atlesian Knights. Only human personnel

"Ah. Why? Balisong, how much time will you need for this thing to turn itself on?"

"A minute...maybe 2"

"Then get in. I will hold them off"

Minerva hands Balisong her mask, revealing her face to him. She has several wrinkles and scars, evidently product of the years and also shrapnel and several cuts. She even had a couple of metallic implants

"Apparently...It wasn't me who was going to become the new Gambit. I'm sad that it had to be you"

"Minerva...Don't do anything stupid, just put on your damn mask"

"The most stupid thing I could do is exactly what you're asking from me. Now g-"

Minerva gets shot on the back by the Atlesian Soldiers, only giving Balisong enough time to run towards the pilot's seat. However, he wouldn't make it quick enough and would also take another bullet, right in his wounded arm, which restarted the bleeding but was already pointless anyway

Balisong held the mask close to his chest as he saw Minerva for the last time, her taking the Atlesian Soldiers by surprise, and pushing them out of the ship by performing a last sacrifice.

One sudden flash of light would be the last thing Balisong would see coming from the shore, as he set sail back to Genus


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes returning to what you call home isn't precisely the best of feelings. Sometimes it is more bittersweet. Sometimes you wish that this was your last time coming back so that you could just burn it down. Others you just....want your deeds there to finish just to leave again

It was a foggy day in the shores of Trolesund, a coast village of the Commonwealth, one of the few sea ports that it held. From within the mist, an Vacuan Sea Vessel emerged slowly

A caped figure in the shore would send a radio signal, a subtle ping that only those in a certain frequency would be able to hear. Then, a response would come up

"This is Reaper Gambit. I'm with Reaper Pigmallion. We seized a Vacuo ship and are approaching towards the dry port. Prepare for immediate dismantling"

Then, the ship smoothly and swiftly approached the shore, entering some dry docks, where Gambit and Pigmallion got off, as several field engineers and mechanics got in and immediately commenced taking notes and sizes of everything in the ship

"So. Gambit. Haven't seen you in a while" said a figure walking towards them, having just arrived to the docks

Then...Cipher saw that it was only the two of them

"Umm...Psyche? Dude, are you in there?"

Cipher's angst grew bigger, while Gambit and Pigmallion only...stood there in silence

"Oracle...where is Psyche...he's in the boat right?" He asked, with evident worry

"Not now, Cipher...Pigmallion is going to bury her equals"

"Wait...No..."

Then, Pigmallion would approach Cipher, who was visibly on the verge of a breakdown

"Just so you know. He sacrificed himself to...save me...I'm sorry I couldn't..."Pigmallion was going to continue, but the knot on her throat cut her off

Then, while Cipher left devastated, Pigmallion and Gambit walked slowly

Trolesund was mostly a fishermen village. They were walking down a main avenue, surrounded by several fisheries and fishing supply stores, among with other businesses

They were only walking, not even speaking to each other. They didn't even need to say anything. It was a silent agreement because this wasn't a moment to be speaking

After some minutes of walking, they reached a cemetery guarded by other Reapers like them. They were allowed in. They walked among several mausoleums until they reached an empty one holding 3 empty showcases, where Pigmallion would proceed to slowly place each mask she was carrying.

She placed Psyche's mask first, then went to pronounce a small prayer and then proceeded to carve in Psyche's name in the plaque directly above the showcase. She did the same for Numerian and Medea

"You know...Even as sad as this is. We should be thankful that we can bury them" says Gambit, in their somber, gutural voice tone

"Not everyone has the luxury of having a mausoleum of their own. You sure may live your life and do many things, but the only thing that will remain after you're gone will be wherever you signed the hardest"

Pigmallion slowly turns to look at Gambit

"Take this for granted. You and I are not the first Pigmallion or the first Gambit. But we for certain have done well enough so far that we will much probably be the last to bear these names. Be happy not because you now have your new identity but because the struggle of your comrades finally ended and now they can happily rest"

Pigmallion then turns back to look at one of the showcases in familiar as she falls to her knees to cry the loss of her teammates

Gambit kneels to comfort her. They want to cry too. They can feel the knot on their throat. They even see their sight become a bit glassy. But they can't. The tears won't come out. They feel like crying would be the appropriate thing to do...but its not an honest feeling.

Cipher would arrive just a moment later, carrying some bottles of liquor

"Hey"

While Pigmallion and Gambit sat in front of the mausoleum, Cipher gave each a bottle of beer, while leaving 3 bottles of fine wine, one for each showcase, then grabbed the last bottle of beer for him

"You all fought bravely..."

Cipher tilts his head to look at Psyche's showcase, then looked at Pigmallion

"Especially you, lover boy. Cheers"

"Cheers"

The three of them cheered and walked out of the cemetery

"I...will head back home. I will pass in my request for a week off from there" said Pigmallion before heading out

"Farewell, guys"

"See you later, Pigmallion. So, heading for Mossholm, Gambit?"

"Yeah...We succeeded in...getting the Relic"

"Oh. Well, that reliefs me a bit more. Mind telling Thorne I'm taking the rest of the day off too?"

"Yeah. I'll tell him"

"Alright. Thank you, Gambit...I'll be heading off now. See you soon"

Cipher and Gambit headed in opposite ways, while Pigmallion sat down in a nearby park bench to drink and mourn the loss of her teammates

A train arrives to the great city of Mossholm, capital of the Commonwealth. There, Gambit would go down the train and transfer directly to the subway, taking the first ride headed for the "Legislative Circuit"

The Commonwealth of Maelstrom, unlike the rest of the Kingdoms, has a more intricate and complicated system of government.

There is the President, which was elected by popular vote and was in charge of running Commonwealth-wide affairs. Beneath the president, there were 3 main figures, each for a branch of the government.

The Prime Minister, who was the head of the High Ministry, the Consul, which was pretty much like a Vice-President, was the head of the High State, and the Chancellor, head of Parliament.

All of these 3 were also elected by popular vote, same with all of the seats in their respective organs. However, the President also had the authority to personally pick a 4th figure, the High Commander, head of the Armed Forces

In the Legislative Circuit, there were the 3 buildings in which the High Ministry, the High State and the Parliament operated. Gambit got out of the station and went for the Parliament building immediately. They were allowed inside as he walked directly upstairs and towards the Chancellor's office. 2 Reapers stop them

"Excuse us. What brings you here to see Chancellor Delauren?"

"This is important military matter involving state security, I demand an immediate audience"

The reapers would get a message and allow him into the office. Gambit would stand still, awaiting instructions, as the old man that was Chancellor Delauren was finishing some stamping

"Oh. Reaper Gambit. Please, take a seat"

Gambit obediently does so. They meanwhile pull out the Relic of Destruction, carefully holding the sword by the handle, just above the desk

"Oh...You obtained it"

"Yes, Chancellor. We successfully seized the Relic"

"Then...who got the powers of the Summer Maiden?"

Gambit removes their mask just a bit, letting the Chancellor see the flame coming out of their eyes. A darkened, black flame

"Hmm. Curious. Did you use your Semblance?"

"Yes, I did, sir"

"Then you may be one of the first men to ever wield the power of the Maidens. You do realize that?"

"Well. That statement...can be heavily rebated...also because of my Semblance"

"I know. Now. With this...We only need to make sure that this woman from the Darkness Derrelict doesn't get to it"

"Don't worry yourself. We left a replicant behind. Pigmallion left no trace of us. They will probably believe it was all a failed attempt by some of her men. Pigmallion's teammates...really...were talented"

"I'm sorry to hear that...Well, this made their loss mean something. This will bring the Commonwealth one step closer to victory"

Gambit remains on their seat while they wait for any other instructions

"I'm assuming Pigmallion needs a...time to mourn..."

"Her"

"...Her teammates. Anybody else?"

"Yes. Reaper Cipher. He was...related to one of them"

"And you?"

"I'm fine. I'm more concerned about Pigmallion. It's clearly her first time going through this"

"So...you care about her"

"Yes. She...is special..."

"Special...how?"

"She's...kind...in a way"


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do you have a traumatic memory you wish you would forget? Something like....embarrassment due to failure or the feeling that everyone around you just secretly mocks you when you're not looking? Do you miss someone special? Or do you want to correct a mistake in the past?
> 
> Good luck with that, day dreamer. You can't

Somewhere deep in the mountains in Genus, the long-forgotten dragon shaped continent, a lot of transports from Niflheim were being sent towards the Marshlands. There, a very muscular man would stand up and give some words of encouragement to his team

"Alright! Team Balisong, stand up!"

Everyone would stand up, with the last one standing up being a new addition to the team

"Alright. New guy, come up"

The new person would walk towards the apparent leader

"Now. How about you tell us about yourself?"

"The name is Belfry. I'm going to be the team's sharpshooter..."

No reactions amongst the other 2 team members

"Well. Belfry, I'm Graphene, Team Leader"

Then, the guy brandishing hair long enough to cover their face stepped forth

"I'm Laudanum. This pal over here is Samuel, a first timer. By the looks of it, you aren't one"

"Yeah. Not precisely...my first time"

"Well" replied Graphene

"Now, to the mission. There have been reports of Seraphim packs roaming around settlements here in the Yggdrasil Marshlands. Mission is to clear those Seraphim, understood?"

Everyone just says a generic yes, in sign of agreement. Belfry wasn't very enthusiastic

"Hey, Belfry. What's that mask for?"

"None of your business, Laudanum"

"What? Too much ... insecurities?"

"Piss off. None of it matters to you. By the looks of it you clearly are still a bit of a starter"

"Oh you think so? I have killed Seraphim with my own bare hands, you don't even look the part"

Belfry then pulls out his sniper rifle, showing a glowing pair of what looked to be shark fangs

"What a show-off"

Laudanum then returns to talk with Samuel, while Belfry just keeps on being absorbed in their thoughts

Belfry has a throwback to when he was way younger

He sees...a woman. He can tell that they have a sort of...relationship together but...what kind of relationship that is isn't clear

She calls for him. He knows that she is referring to him, but whenever she does so his name only sounds like a distorted mess. Fuzzy static. Something he cannot comprehend

He gets up, and finds that he is in the shore of a big lake, big enough to perfectly reflect everything...except himself

He sees himself and knows that he is seeing himself...but the figure he sees is cracked, deformed beyond anything recognizable

He walks slowly towards the voice of the woman, feeling like he wants to. Pursuing a warmth he recognizes as something close but that he doesn't ever remember feeling


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mourning is a complicated process. First step is denial. You just want to believe that this will all end if you will it into being a fake reality. Second step is anger. You then start believing that you can rage yourself to what you want and force circumstances to subdue to your favor. Third step is negotiation. Maybe if you do something, the response will be the undoing of what is done. Then comes the depression, which is when you really start losing the grip. You begin reflecting on what happened and all of its consequences. And the thought process isn't bright.
> 
> Sadly, for many people there is no such thing as the acceptance at the end of the mourning. Sometimes a loss is so deep that there is no end to your reflecting. Even if you think you have accepted that someone has left your life for good, you still carry the scar for the rest of your life

Somewhere in Trolesund, Pigmallion had a house she rarely ever visited, only when she was able to take a break. She had finally reached it after taking a long walk from the cemetery.

She quietly opened the door and went in. She closed the door and took off both her boots and her cape. Then, she took off her mask and then went around the house, closing every window

She grabbed a tiny box off her vest. Inside of it, there was a small ring that Psyche had given to her some weeks back. She was just about to get married, but now she was alone once again, just like she was in the past. She carried the ring close to her chest as she walked towards a workshop she had set up at the back of the house.

Pigmallion's hobby had always been technology and reverse engineering, ever since she entered Niflheim, but even now, she could not even bring herself to turn on her pad to even begin doing anything. She only felt a soul-crushing guilt, one that prevented her from even getting up from the chair she was sitting in, blaming herself for being unable to protect Psyche from the hail of bullets from those Huntresses

She instead turned her head to the nearby frame. It held a 10 year old picture, back when team PMON had just been formed, when Psyche and her were much younger

She couldn't help it but to succumb to tears again. In all those years, all she wanted was for the War with Remnant to be over so that Psyche and her could finally live in that same house, away from the turmoil of Osterheim and the inherently inflexible culture within the Reaper Corps.

But now that dream, of remaining as Oracle and living with Psyche, had been taken away from her. That Huntress and her minigun had forced her to become Pigmallion. And there...Pigmallion, out of pure anger, grabbed a wrench and a sand bag and headed for the backyard, where she began beating it again and again and again, screaming with every strike she took at it. Until she then finally broke. And once she broke, all that was left inside of her was a desire to cause an equal pain to that Huntress.

That hate, was what pushed her to finally get into her pad and start searching throughout every possible database in Remnant for anything that could tell her about who she was

Until she found her...

"Coco. Adel. Huntress trained at Beacon...before the fall. Transfered to Shade for graduation...Member of team CFVY..."

She said, as she clenched her fist onto that tiny box, holding it like if it was going to get ripped away from her if she let go

But then, she returned to herself, closing the pad once again. Only...wanting to be Oracle once again

Cipher, on the other hand, was at what now was his sole home in Osterheim. He didn't live in Osterheim but rather in the slums of Yotunheim, which ironically, where smaller than the actual Osterheim itself. He lived in the 3rd floor of a 5 story building.

He had solved to buy a 6 pack of beer and then head home, since the beer sold in Osterheim was of lesser quality than that of the beer sold in Trolesund. Cipher limited himself to not drink until he had gotten home. Once he did, he hit the first can.

Cipher and Psyche were actual brothers. Right on the wall in front of where Cipher was drinking, in the living room, there were lots of pictures that Cipher had brought from their parents' home before they passed away. A little contradictory to keep pictures of parents that abused you and your brethren, one may think.

Cipher downed another sip of beer as he went through the pictures. He was the older brother, with Psyche and him having only a 5 year age difference. They had been born in one of the Yggdrassil Settlements.

Their parents were negligent with them to the very end, when the settlement where they lived in was overrun by Seraphim, when Cipher was only 8. Ever since, Cipher took care of Psyche, taught him how to walk and speak.

Eventually, Cipher had to begin stealing in order to be able to properly educate Psyche, as he couldn't afford the books by only asking for money on the street. However, when Cipher was 14, he was caught. Psyche was taken to an orphanage, while Cipher was first put into a correctional facility for young people, but due to misconduct, he was forced to train at Niflheim.

Once Cipher had turned 18 and graduated as a proper Reaper, he immediately tried to claim custody over Psyche, only to discover that Psyche, using what he had learned, had ended up enlisting voluntarily in Helheim, the most feared of the 3 Reaper Training Compounds due to its severity and crushing schedules and extremely elevated standards.

They communicated through letters, some of which Cipher had kept a copy of in a drawer, until Psyche graduated. Ever since, while both of them spent most of their time on-duty in separate assignments, they always spent their time off-duty at home

That was until, after one mission, Psyche came home with his new team

There was when Cipher met Oracle

Cipher was already on his 3rd can of beer, walking around the apartment, remembering how visits from team PMON not only became more frequent, but with each visit Oracle and Psyche grew closer

And then...

Cipher went to Psyche's old room. Everything was already packed up

For the past month, Psyche and Oracle had been in talks of moving to Trolesund to live together once they got married, and Psyche had already prepared everything to move. But said preparation would now be ever waiting to pay off

Cipher downed the rest of the can in one go as he sit in bed to sob. He grabbed a 4th can and went right into drinking from it

Ever since Cipher hit his 3rd year at Niflheim, he had a big problem with alcohol. He had been used to drinking ever since he was 15, but once he graduated, he became an avid drinker.

It was only until Psyche and Oracle had became a couple when it started to have a big toll on his military performance. Lots of pressure from his late teammates and both Oracle and his brother had finally convinced him to go into various years of therapy, but even with that, it wouldn't save him from his liver problem.

Cipher had already downed the 6th can of beer and had began to hallucinate. Trolesund's beer had a higher percentage of alcohol than that of Osterheim's. To be precise, Trolesund's beer was pretty much half alcohol, while Osterheim's beer was only 10%.

It didn't take long before Cipher passed out and started seeing things

Someone was knocking on the door. Cipher didn't answer

He didn't have the will to move

All he wanted to see was his brother coming in, next to Oracle, one more time

And then...he saw them coming in to greet him, which finally calmed him down. He muttered some uncomprehensible words of relief as he fell asleep

As Cipher fainted, his mouth filled to the brim with vomit and some bile, Gambit turned him around and saved him from drowning


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things will soon fall apart. And you know it

"Cipher...wake up"

Gambit is with Cipher at the Jörmundgander Training Complex, somewhere on the medical bay. He, along with some of the medical personnel, has been trying to make Cipher regain consciousness after his excessive drinking

"What...the hell happened"

Cipher asks, obviously having trouble remembering

"You went back at it again. You drank until you fainted and almost drown on your own puke"

"Then why the hell did you save me?!"

Cipher straight up goes to punch Gambit

"All I wanted was to see him live his life...And now...What?! I HAVE NOTHING LEFT, GAMBIT!"

Gambit just lets Cipher beat him, knowing that he would eventually run out of energy in his current state

Cipher and Gambit kept on fighting for some more seconds, until Cipher finally started showing weakness, to which Gambit immediately replied by body slamming him back onto the hospital bed

"Listen! Cipher...look. Focus on what's in front of you. I know you are in mourning, but we're now changing plans...the Chancellor ordered it. We are behind schedule"

"What...?! I thought that we would have some more time before redeployment"

Gambit then pulls out a pad, showing a Vale Huntress speaking. She's claims to be speaking to all of Remnant and warns the viewer about the Relics, the Maidens and the threat that the woman of the derelict represents, as well as she informs about the apparent unwillingness of General Ironwood to cooperate with her faction

"Right after this was sent throughout the CCT network...Atlas went into full red alert. That woman of the derelict really is intent on getting the Relic of Creation out of it. Apparently her forces have breached into the City"

"What?! She wasn't supposed to be able to ram her way into the city this early"

Then, Chancellor Delauren walks in, with Pigmallion next to him

"We know. That is why you 4 are now being officially assembled into a new Team"

Pigmallion silently walks in, and another caped figure comes in

"Reaper Gambit. Reaper Cipher. I'm Reaper Crystal"

Then, the Chancellor continues

"Reaper Gambit, you will be the one to lead this new team. However, due to the incompatibility of your initials, we will be skipping the formal naming conventions. You all are now Team Raptor and will answer directly to me, to the High Commander, to the Consul, the Prime Minister...and of course her excellence, the President"

Gambit, slowly sits up Cipher, as the Chancellor continues

"All other public officials, be it Members of Parliament, Ministers, Commonwealth Justices, Members of the High Military Council, and of course the general public, are not to be informed of your operations. There can be no intermediate agents. You need anything or get anything, you bring it directly to us"

"Yes. Chancellor" responds Gambit

After that the Chancellor slowly heads to the door. But stops right before leaving

"I know you all are in deep mourning, barely having recovered from the loss of your comrades. But right now, this is the best shot we have at making their fight and their sacrifice being worth"

Then the Chancellor leaves

"You all heard the Chancellor. Cipher...Come on, we have a job to do"

Cipher reluctantly gets up, but still can't walk properly, barely able to tumble and having a hard time keeping his balance. Gambit helps Cipher while they all walk out of the room


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fate worse than death? Simple answer. Living
> 
> Nobody ever realizes. Only 1 person really knows that I'm right.
> 
> Death, even if bitter, is a relief. You stop having to fight. You rest. You can finally put an end to all your problems
> 
> Living after being saved from death only creates more problems to the point that said problem can eventually create more suffering that your death
> 
> Now imagine being stuck here with no means of dying and tell me. Is death really the worse fate?

The Derelict of Light. Once the home of the God of Light incarnate...now was nothing but a swamp filled with Seraphim.

Seraphim are like the creatures of Grimm. They come from the pools of light, now rotten and stale due to thousands of years of absence of the God of Light.

But, unlike the creatures of Grimm, the Seraphim aren't precisely able to be killed. Even if the waters of light are stale, they still are able to grant immortality, just as the God of Light once did with Salem. and as such, these unkillable monsters wander around the decayed hills and swamps of the Derelict. But there is one method to keep the Seraphim at bay.

Belfry was loading her rifle while he waited for the Expeditionary Force to commence the advance on the Yggdrassil Marshlands. It was a sniper rifle, but of a different breed. It had to be fired from the shoulder and used 80mm custom-tooled Dust shells.

Then, Graphene would go to where Belfry was sitting

"Alright. Let's go. We're headed for Sector 7...Woah..."

"What?"

"Nothing...just saying...you're supposed to be a sharpshooter, aren't you?"

"It may not look like it, but this is actually...a very destructive marksman rifle"

"That is a recoilless rifle"

"If you say so...Anyways, I also brought the...lighter approach"

Then, Belfry would shake his shoulder a bit, showing a smaller weapon hanging from her shoulder. A smaller carbine that didn't attract any attention by itself. Belfry quickly strapped the bigger launcher on their other shoulder

After that he would join with the rest of the team

"Alright. Lets go, team!"

Team BLSG would set out into Sector 7, where there was a small treeline but was mostly plains and hills with lots of grass

Belfry would be walking beneath the sun, somehow not showing any sign of exhaustion even while wearing both weapons and a mask under such a sunny day, while Laudanum and Samuel were obviously sweating out every ounce of water their bodies had.

"Graaaphene...Do you still have some water?" said Laudanum

"Nope. You will have to brace until we find a settlement" he replied, while Belfry stepped in

"Maybe if you didn't waste it on the way here you would have something to drink"

"Shut up"

"Uhh. Guys..." Samuel said, having stopped

Everyone turned around to see a pack of Seraphim Bastets, creatures with a shape reminiscent to felines.

Belfry steps forth, carbine in hand

"I will take care of the Hojarasca behind them. You can take the Bastets. I will provide support if I can"

Belfry takes the shot, quickly landing an Ice Dust bullet in the Bastet on the middle of the pack

Unlike Grimm, the Seraphim need to stick together, otherwise they quickly perish. By sticking together they are able to heal one another by sharing their light between them. But with said connection comes one big vulnerability.

Seraphim, being made out of stale pure light, aren't able to properly interact with most matter. Dust and overall rocks, metals and most minerals are some of the things that do considerable damage to their bodies, in most cases.

Once a Seraphim's body receives Dust into their body, it channels it out immediately, which can also trigger said Dust. Once Belfry landed the shot, the entire pack of Bastets was frozen, giving Graphene and the others time to run, while the Hojarasca, a giant creature resembling a humanoid tree, only received a breeze. Belfry would stay still as they prepared the bigger weapon

Graphene had no trouble cutting through the frozen Bastets, but almost got smashed if not for Laudanum, who used his semblance to inflict an acidic burn on the branch that the Hojarasca was using, giving Graphene enough time to avoid the attack. Samuel, meanwhile, was doing what best he could with what he learned at Niflheim.

Samuel's Semblance was to be able to channel Dark Energy into objects, which dealt significant damage to the Seraphim, but had the downside of also attracting the Grimm. Thankfully, the Seraphim and the Grimm inhabit separate Derelicts so he wasn't very much at risk

Laudanum kept on using his slingshot to fire acid balloons at the Hojarasca, which may sound ridiculous for a grown Reaper to do, but it was the better choice he could afford to make the best use of his Semblance.

Graphene was taking most of the hits of the Hojarasca with almost pure joy. Graphene's Semblance was to nullify any force exerted on him at will. Problem with that semblance was that it applied to ANY force, be it the wind's resistance or even gravity itself, which made it so that Graphene had to be very careful and focused of not placing their mind or weight anywhere he didn't need to unless they wanted to die. But it also mean, he was almost able to take extreme impacts without suffering any damage.

And then...one sonic boom that blasted throughout the plains...

The entire top of the Hojarasca had just been instantly wiped off it. The Hojarasca's lower trunk dropped dead immediately, now having lost its bright, natural yellowish green for it to be replaced with a pale, dead gray. The Bastets would subsequently fall, pulverized

On top of the hill nearby, Belfry was just beginning to reload his recoilless rifle. Unlike other pieces of artillery, this one was something more manageable. It was obviously single shot, but bolt action, meaning that all Belfry had to do was pull back the bolt and load in a new cartridge after punching the spent one out

"So...I assume we still have some more...worries"

Samuel rejoins the group

"Woah...what was that?!"

"The Airshaker. Special ordnance from Helheim"

"Wait...They don't usually give these to normal Reapers. Who really are you?"

"Your new team's sharpshooter. I have my secrets. You have yours"

Belfry then kept going, more focused on his thoughts than anything else around him, just wanting to get done with it


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well. It surely is becoming increasingly difficult to come up with ways to prevent you from looking where you are not supposed to. Please stay with me for this one

While chaos ensued in the outskirts of Atlas and the army was entirely deployed to fight off the Grimm Invasion, Team Raptor had just infiltrated the ruins of Beacon.

Crystal's Semblance was to make surfaces intangible to light, making them invisible for most. Crystal could also handle where said reflected light landed, meaning that they all were invisible to everything. Grimm and other Huntsmen

"So...why are we here? I mean, the relic clearly isn't here, otherwise that woman from the Derelict would have seized it already" said Cipher, being a bit impatient

"That is precisely why we are here. That woman hasn't seized it because Grimm aren't intelligent enough to do a competent search. Plus...even if they did, they don't have the technical knowledge to know where to look since that...thing froze on top of the Tower destroyed the Headmaster's terminal...along with everything else" responded Pigmallion, to then continue

"While the Headmaster's terminal is destroyed, Team Blitzkrieg was able to discover that most of the academy's local network and infrastructure is intact...but not operational. We are here to power those servers up again and then find a suitable terminal to begin searching for the Crown"

"Wait. If the Headmaster's Terminal was destroyed, so would their access be, wouldn't it?"

"Not exactly, Cipher. If we can first find a list of registered users, we can find the Headmaster's credentials that we can then use to search throughout the system. Knowing Vale's lack of dexterity with informatics guarantees that they didn't restrict which terminals the Headmaster could use to log in, therefore whichever computer we find is as good as his old destroyed one"

"Then. Our mission is to reconnect the network then find an appropriate terminal" says Gambit

"Yes. Ideally, it will be a vulnerable one with almost no protections. A student terminal would be ideal"

"But wait. The Beacon Exclusion Zone is literally just outside the city. They would notice if the lights went on"

"Then I give us 10 minutes. 20 at most, considering the Grimm around the campus"

"Alright. So, once we find the terminal you connect the power cell you have and come to our location. There we start the timer"

Gambit and Crystal separated, while Cipher and Pigmallion kept going the way they were going

The only parts of Beacon that were really damage were the public spaces. The main dining hall or the auditorium were completely scorched and in ruins. Shattered windows. Crumbled, partially destroyed pillars. Burned table that looked to be incredibly expensive. Half eaten meals now rotting and growing serious amounts of mold and drawing all kinds of cockroaches and bugs to them

Gambit and Crystal were walking down the dining hall slowly, looking around for any scroll or any terminal that wasn't toasted during the apparent fire that ensued

"Ahh...It's kind of...melancholic" says Crystal

"What? Not like Niflheim has any of these things"

"I'm not from Volvangar, you know?"

"Then where are you from?"

"Juno. I trained at Alma"

"Oh...Sorry..."

"No, It's fine. Not many people in Juno join into the military like in Volvangar"

"I honestly wish it wasn't the case. How are things at Alma?"

"Well... Pretty much however this campus looked before whatever happened here. It was...always a bright day. I still remember the day I got to Alma. The breeze from the sea hitting my face...the warmth of the sun on my shoulders...The weight of my backpack"

"Sounds nicer than Niflheim"

"Speaking of which. How is Niflheim? That's where the elite come from, right?"

"Well...It's more like...a emptied version of Atlas Academy"

"Well, it is a training complex for a reason"

"Yeah, you are right on that"

After some exploring, Crystal and Gambit keep walking down the dusty hallways, exploring the classrooms and eventually reaching the library

"Hmm. Well, these people at Beacon surely had the cash to have decent libraries" says Gambit

"Yeah, but if what Pigmallion said is true, they can't event afford decent cybersecurity"

"Well, I mean, not like Niflheim had many of these. As far as my memory goes...I think they only have 2 libraries, but trainees can only use one of them, since the other is for the analysts and the accountants of the building"

"Well...What did the student library have?"

"Guides. Literally just guides on many warfare related topics. Explosives, Weapon Engineering. All you wanted, as long as it helps the war effort"

"Wow...How do you cope with that?"

"I don't. I am in the job I like"

Crystal didn't respond, but he noticed that Gambit's opinion from before was completely opposed what he said...As well as his voice had changed too. Like if he had become a completely different person

They kept on traversing the buildings until they reached the less destroyed portion of the campus and entered the faculty area

"So...Which office should we go for?" says Gambit

"Uhh...How the hell do you read this names?"

"Its read Bartholomew"

"Ba...Bar...Ah, christ. Bar Oobleck, I will leave it like that"

"So...Bartholomew Oobleck's office. Well, he certainly was not an organized man...or is...for all we know he can be dead or alive"

"Well, from the looks of it he must be. There are papers missing"

"How can you tell amongst all the chaos?"

"Well, it may be chaos but some of it is organized...as well as said organized papers have parts of them missing. I don't think Grimm can read or write without smearing things all over the documents...if they managed to not rip them apart"

"His terminal is not working. He was a smart man too. His hard drive was removed"

"Then...how about that guy across the hallway, Peter Port?"

"Doesn't look like they have anything worth looking. I can't see their terminal from here"

Crystal and Gambit go to the other offices

"So...Professor Mulberry...I mean, she did have lots of greenery"

"But her terminal has been removed entirely. Same for her colleague, Professor Thumbelina"

"Ahh...I think most of them survived and were smart enough to salvage sensitive intel"

"Well yeah. But we can still take a shot at the student dormitories"

"Gambit, how can you be okay with snooping around the private stuff of some children you don't know?"

"I'm not. I just do it because it is what the mission needs me to do. Lets go"

Gambit, followed by Crystal, starts searching bedroom after bedroom after traversing the campus. Since the doors were all closed with the electronic locks, Gambit and Crustal had to break doors down over and over again, which made for a slow, exhausting process

After some searching they reach...a particular set of rooms

"Woah" says Crystal

"What did you find now?"

"Well...Whoever made these bunk beds really needs a crash course in safe design"

Gambit then joins Crystal

"Oh...Well, you're right on that"

"Nothing on the other room?"

"Well, actually there was something"

Gambit pulls a golden clipper out of his pocket, along with a picture of Sanctum Academy

"Hmm. Well...At least we know that Beacon had transfers. Any scrolls..."

"No. Their terminal looks intact. But it doesn't appear to work past the greeting screen for the maintenance personnel"

"Well, then this room may have something useful"

Gambit and Crystal start searching every inch of the room

"Hmm. Well, this is jackpot for Team Intellect" said Crystal

"What?"

"An S.D.C Suitcase...full with Dust"

"Wait, really?"

"Yep. Apparently one of the Schnee's picked Beacon over Atlas"

"Well, we are seizing it"

Gambit and Crystal keep on doing their searching around the room

"Well...This is where it gets weird. What the hell kind of trashy novel is this?" said Crystal after snooping around

"What is it?"

"Ninjas of Love or some garbage. Who in their right mind would read this?"

"Well. You are more of an expert. What is so bad about it?"

"Nothing. Well nothing considering that this is some homo-erotica stuff that some second hand writer half assed"

"What is bad about that?"

"Nothing. I mean, I read lots of these stuff myself but I despise this one in particular. Its too generic for my tastes"

"You are into stuff like this?"

"Yep. Alma has lots of novels...including stuff like this, so of course I picked up on it"

Then, Crystal stumbles around a hollow spot resonating in the wall

"Jackpot. Help me move the bookcase"

Gambit helps Crystal to put the bookcase aside then tears the cap off the wall, revealing a hidden handler plaque, with some cables connected to it, but mostly being an open access point

"Well. Only one way to test it"

Gambit went right in and, with the help of Crystal, connected a power cell into the terminal

Said terminal, as expected lit up with a silent alarm that wouldn't reach anywhere.

"Pigmallion? This is Gambit, we found one that is working. Dormitories"

"Alright. I'll connect the power cell and set it for remote activation then I will get to you"

After placing the power cell into the socket for the main power supply for the central data bank, Pigmallion and Cipher went out, trying to make their ways to the abandoned dormitories as quickly as possible


	12. Chapter 12

"Headmaster Goodwitch!"

One of the newly hired Huntsmen at Beacon, Taiyang Xiao Long, was sprinting to carry dreadful news to Glynda, but was stopped by Peter Port, who thought there was a problem

"Woah! Easy there, Tai. What's the hurry?"

"Salem is here, she's sent her people inside the Exclusion Zone"

"How can you tell? We already know the Grimm are in there thanks to that thing froze on top of the tower"

"Unless the Grimm can turn lights on, we surely shouldn't be taking this lightly, Pete"

Then, Peter allowed Taiyang to continue forward, reaching Glynda's office at new Beacon

"Headmaster Goodwitch"

"What could possibly bring you storming into my office right at this very moment, Tai?"

"Salem. Or one of her people. Somebody is at Beacon"

"What?!"

"The lights went back on for no reason, but there is no activity in the electrical grid"

"Rally up who you can, I will send the alarm. If what Ruby said on that broadcast is true, then Salem has gone on the offensive...just what we needed"

Several Huntsmen began preparing for what looked like a battle. They scrambled some transport ships in order to cross the lake into the Exclusion Zone

Taiyang teamed up with Peter Port and Bartholomew Oobleck

"Ahh..."

Oobleck and Port sensed some concern in Taiyang

"Tai...about Ruby" said Oobleck

"I'm fine...She's a Huntress now. But...that is not exactly what concerns me. I'm more worried about what will happen to her if we let Salem defeat Atlas"

"But...you heard her. If what she said is true, then...we can't trust Ironwood" replied Port

"If what she said is true then we will deal with that later but we are better off helping him than just...standing here, doing nothing"

The ships slowly approached the ruins of the campus, landing with normalcy and striking down any Grimm nearby

"They are all concentrated in this shore...What is going on?!"

The battle was fierce...but in the end the Huntsmen came up victories with minimal casualties. Then, the search commenced

"Fine. We are clear. Let's go. They must be commencing the search now"

Pigmallion shut down the terminal and unplugged everything, while Crystal ensured that they wouldn't be seen as they covered up

"This...suitcase really is heavy" said Cipher

"Cipher, a teenage girl carried those things with one arm, don't be such a wimp" replied Pigmallion

"Screw you"

"Alright. Don't fight. Bookshelf is back in place, we can leave"

Everyone walked away in complete silence. As they walked, they would meet the Vale Huntsmen face to face, but thanks to Crystal they would go unseen

"Nothing here" said one of the Huntsmen that passed them

"Well...Aside of some hastily made bunk beds, we can report that we found no trace of anyone" said the other

"Wait... Look at the carpet..." said a third Huntsman

"Footprints..."

"Somebody was here...I'm telling Goodwitch we have intruders confirmed but we don't know if they are still around"

Team Raptor kept on silently traversing the school, passing by one huntsmen team after the other, until they found a Canis Faunus Huntress just down the hallway

Crystal immediately diverted the group down the auditorium, where they found another group of Huntsmen

"So...This is where you used to teach guys?" asked the blonde Huntsman

"Yeah. I still remember fondly the days in front of this chalkboard" said the chubby one

"Well, we are not in a alumni party here, we are searching for intruders, and if what Miss Mulberry said is true then we have intruders here" said a third one wearing glasses

"And I think they went through here. There's footsteps in the door..." interrupts the blonde one, who starts following the trail of footprints, until he's inadvertedly standing right next to them

Crystal is having a hard time with diverting the reflected light away from those Huntsmen's eyes, and then...he slips. For a split second, the three of them get a glimpse of ... a floating suitcase

Gambit immediately shoves a smoke bomb on the ceiling

"WE HAVE HOSTILES!" yells the blond one, while all of the Team begins running

While everyone ran, Cipher began trying to put some thoughts together

"Don't try it, Cipher. We have to get that Dust back to Osterheim"

The alarms would go off immediately, which would help the conversation be fairly muffled

They would run right into the cafeteria, where, once regrouped, Pigmallion detonated the power cells, cutting off the power at Beacon once again. Making use of the darkness, Crystal would camouflage them back again. Even then, the group of Huntsmen present in the place was too big for them.

Gambit played a clever move and placed a small firecracker where they were, leaving the fuse chord on it be long enough so that it took a while to burn, but it wasn't just the firecracker

All of the Team snuck as best as they could between the Huntsmen, making sure to not split that much, otherwise Crystal's Semblance wouldn't be able to encompass them

After what was 15 eternal seconds of sneaking slowly between the crowd, the firecracker went off, which cleared their path to an open breach in the wall

Tai and his team were just about to catch the intruders when the lights were cut off.

After a while, they would keep running, following the sounds of footsteps only until they reached the cafeteria...Where all they would find would be the rest of the Huntsmen were just rallying up to leave

"Ah...They escaped" said Peter, obviously frustrated

"Well, its obviously our fault for not shooting at them" said Oobleck

"Can't blame you for that. I wouldn't have shot them either...Tai"

Taiyang was reading something he had picked up from the floor, a burnt piece of paper

Congratulations...You have set the foot in the fire on your own and allowed me to find what I wanted

On the paperback, there was a glyph but...it didn't look like something Salem would do. The glyph was hastily drawn. The language in the paper was too ... normal, too close to that of a normal person's that...it didn't seem to fit

"Something isn't right...like...it wasn't Salem...but someone else entirely. We are taking this note to Glynda..."


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Found you

Gallium and Telerium were waiting outside of a surgery room. Balisong was in critical condition. The surgery was taking too long. There were lots of doubts but only one certainty. Minerva died. And now there was no acting leader

But that wasn't their concern. What concerned them was the very fact that Balisong wasn't even flinching even when his arm was severed off him. Throughout all those countless hours he didn't even blink. The Chancellor was overseeing everything

"So. How did they he..."

"They...now...Chancellor" replied a physician coming out of the room

"What do you mean they?"

"Their semblance...It evolved far beyond what we projected the loss would make it to. We can not...determine a proper gender or...even a species at this point. It appears to be stabilizing but...we don't really think he should return to combat"

"Well, this team really is falling apart now"

Telerium was just looking, feeling impotent...

_And just what do you think you are doing?! Mingling in my head again aren't you? What? You think this is some sort of book that you can just read without consequence? That you can play God and know everything about this place, about this planet? We are starting over with something else. You and I have somewhere else to go_

The Chancellor and Gallium were waiting outside of a medical vessel. Balisong was stable. The surgery had just begun

But that wasn't their concern. Then Minerva came in

"So. How did they he..."

"They...now...Minerva" replied Telerium coming out of the room

"What do you mean they?"

"Their semblance...It is awaken"

"Well, this really is falling apart now"

_No...This won't cut it. Will it? You just want to know my past? Well, I believe that you have heard this before somewhere else. If I'm going to have a past, I would rather have multiple choices_

Gambit and Oracle were stuck inside of a classroom. Oracle was clinging onto Psyche's dead body

"I failed...I couldn't do anything but watch as he got struck by the bullets"

_Hmm. This isn't really working now is it? How about we try something familiar?_

Clean the floor. Sweep the halls. You're too slow. Hurry Up. Clock's Ticking. Do it faster, we don't have all day. **FAILURE**. You're no good. Your life is of no use. No one's ever loved you. **FAILURE!** Mop the stains. Change the sheets. Clean the clothes. Serve the food. **FAILURE!** Do my homework. Give me the answers. **FAILURE!**

_Trying to find a deeper meaning? A hidden cryptic message? A double meaning keyword or a special phrase? A foreshadowing of something yet to happen?_

So let me tell you a story. At the beginning, there was **n̴o̴t̷h̴i̷n̶g̷** and then...There was light. **L̷i̴k̸e̶ ̴i̶f̶ ̴t̸h̸e̸r̸e̵ ̵e̴v̴e̶r̷ ̸r̷e̵a̶l̸l̴y̵ ̴w̴i̴l̶l̶ ̶b̸e̸ ̴s̸u̶c̸h̴ ̷a̶ ̷t̶h̶i̴n̵g̶**

_Why are you still searching?! Do you really think you are going to find anything if you keep searching?!_

Gambit and G̵̨̢̛̟̩̫̼̖̗̟̫͈̟͕̾͌̽̑̾̇̋̌̄̊͑͌̚̕a̷̡̮͍̜͔̫̜̹͔̯͉̘̣̯̬͋̈́͋̈́m̵̢̙̗͕͈̺̏̀̅͗̅̆̈́̚͜͝ͅb̴̛̙̺͍̗̭̓͂̓̋̌̓̇͜i̵̡̧͉̮̣̮͙̋͋͊͗̓̆̅̈̚͠ţ̵̛̹̲̘̻̋̀̃͊̀̈́̄̇͋͋̚̚͠͠ were waiting outside of _A̷͚̍͛ ̷̬̞͍̽̈́͋͝p̶͇̏̏̀̌͜l̷̛̤͔͓͠a̴͈̾c̶͙̊e̴̼̹͆͌̚ ̷̝̰̏̈͐͝ṭ̵͋͝ĥ̴̨̠̩̣͗a̴̠̬̫͕̋͐t̷͔̘̋̾̂ ̶͖͇̮̬̿̀̋y̸͙̳͇̌o̸͐̑̍ͅư̷͖͖ ̴͚̜̹͒̄̆ḑ̸͂̾̌o̴͉̺̔̃͗n̶̺̤̣̄͠'̸̗̠͎̠̐͗͐t̵͇̮͐̀̎̒ ̶͚̜̦̑̔́ṇ̴̟͒͐è̸͉̙̒͂e̴̱̤̐̇̉d̷̻͉͖̓ ̸͖̪̠́̾̈͑t̵͉̭̓̇ô̷͔̻̂̂͝ ̴̣͒̑̇͜k̴͖̩̂͂̌͝ň̷̞̈́͘ȍ̶̡̯̂w̴̨͉̪̖̌̄͝_ **T̴̹̍͊̀̎h̶͚̓̔͝e̴̩̼̼͕̋ ̴̺̰͛͘͠͝s̸̠͇͑̄̓ͅḯ̴̫̟̬ẗ̷̩̞́u̶͖͒̿a̷̖͍̱̯͊̎̀̈́t̷̠͓͙͍͑̿͗̇ỉ̴̮͗̓͘o̸͙͋n̷̬͕̣̠̎̍ ̷̝̆̎̓͠w̵̦͌a̵̯͗̀̇͝s̷̗̰̳̰͊̓̈́͘ ̸̥̫͖̓p̵̬͚͂̚ả̴̹͔r̵̻͔͑̈́̐ṭ̶̗̎̋̊͛ͅï̸͕̑̈͝ç̴̘̼̋͝u̴̠̙̼̐̊̆͠l̸̥͎̉ã̴̺͙̹̩̃̉̚r̶̳̣̪̅̄** everyone died. Everything died. ̷̮͖̘͎̉̾͊

**Ȧ̴̰̱̦̈́͊L̶̨͚͇͖̈́͆l̶̡̜̥͉̇̆͌ ̸̟̔̍́T̷̝̥̟̓H̷̩̗̫̑̀̀͂i̷̹̜̇͂̍͜N̴̨̡̠͚̓͌̅́ǵ̴̡̗S̸̞̫̱͛̈́͋̈́ ̷̛̌͊ͅm̴͓̜̣̞̉̿͛͗ũ̷̹̇͊͗S̶̖̔̓̊t̸͔͉̂ ̴̞̦̿̈́ͅḍ̴̨̊͌͜I̶͓̥̬̒̈̓ͅe̴̝͗̅̕͝**

Then...there was a snap

"How is the subject doing?"

"Good. They appear to be accepting their new personality"

"Alright. Deploy them on Mistral. Once there...we can begin focusing on the rest of the Relics"


	14. Chapter 14

Tick. Tock.

The clock ticked with every passing second. Her Excellence, the President, was waiting to meet with someone. A very rare occasion these days. Or even since she took power would be the more appropriate term.

No one disagreed with her. Nobody. She was always right. Whether you liked it or not. Although...to be true to the situation, it wasn't exactly your choice to like it but hers

Then, the guests came in

"General Ironwood. Be very welcome to Mossholm, heart of the Commonwealth"

"The pleasure is mine miss..."

"Irina. Irina Jernhand"

"Miss Jernhand. May I?"

"Oh. Of course, feel free, General. So, I can assume we are both here to address the...situation unfolding between my...despicable neighbor, to say the least, and your kingdom"

"Yes...I assume that the presence of Salem must be a great threat to your people"

"Indeed she is. Which is why...I propose that the Kingdom of Atlas and the Commonwealth of Maelstrom...first of all establish a more...formal and more official relationship. It is not like we have been able to relate with many kingdoms so far and...the presence of Atlesian ships at the shores of Nordkysten was just the perfect opportunity to crush Evernight and free Remnant of her evil once and for all..."

Irina then stops for a bit to catch her breath

**"Wouldn't you agree?"**

"Indeed...Miss Jernhand. Perhaps we can arrange something"

"So. What will Atlas offer in exchange of our...proficient services?"

The General stops for a moment, he reaches for something in his pocket

"I hope you don't mind if I have a small...drink. It's been a busy week back in Atlas"

"Oh sure. Feel free, General"

Ironwood slowly gets a sip from the canteen in his pocket, refreshing his throat

"Now...To answer your question. Atlas is willing to offer military advisory and supplies to the campaign in Genus"

"Oh General. I'm pretty sure Atlas can afford to offer more, **Don't you think?** "

"Yes. In fact. I apologize. Maybe I can...increase the offer"

"Hmm. Increase it how?"

"We can provide logistical support and create a joint research team with Maelstromian scientists in order to develop more weapon systems"

"That is better. Although...something is troubling you, **isn't it?** "

"Yes"

"Does it have to do with that...announcement made by your Huntress?"

"She is not precisely my huntress. She went rogue"

"Oh...How shameful. Loyalty certainly must be a concern for someone like you"

"Indeed. Not only did she go rogue. Her friends joined her. At least...14 of my best Huntsmen have defected from Atlas"

"Well. **Perhaps** if we have some more allowances in our part of the deal we can...help on finding those defectors"

"Hmm. What do you have in mind?"

"If you excuse me...I can actually call someone that can answer that question better than I can"

Irina then goes for the phone and calls somebody. After a while, there would be some knocking on the door

"Come in"

A caped figure would walk in, brandishing a metallic black mask, with several signs of being battle worn

"Your Excellence. General"

"Oh please...Ahem, General, this is one of our elite Executioners, the best of the best of our corps. Executioner Gambit"

General Ironwood would stand up to greet the new guest appropriately

"Mister..."

Then, the guest would reply with a gutural voice, a tone that sounded like it was ripped out of the abyss

"Don't...use the common titles, General. Just call us Gambit"

"Alright then"

Then, Gambit would turn at Irina

"Please. Take a seat. So, General. **Feel Free to tell us**. What is it that you wish to do in regards of those...rogue assets of yours?"

"Well. I can not afford to lose them. They are key in the fight against Salem but until we have them on our side, we can not advance of Evernight Castle without the risk of losing everything we have worked on until now"

"Then. You want her and her group captured?"

"Yes"

"You have your orders now Gambit. Assemble your team and begin searching for..."

"Ruby. Ruby Rose"

Gambit then stands up and salutes

"It will be done, Your Excellence"

After that, the caped guest would leave

"Well. Anything else you **would like** to discuss?"

"Yeah. It seems to me that maybe the Commonwealth can spare some more support for Atlas?"

"Yeah. We can. I heard about what happened during the battle and...Rest assured. Our resources will be more than sufficient to ensure that Atlas recovers swiftly. **Your people will be in good hands** "

"Indeed"


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What does it feel like to see a familiar face? To see someone you used to know, but not because some bitter event happened between both of you, but rather because you can not remember how you came to know them?
> 
> (HEAVY LANGUAGE WARNING)

Gambit puts their mask back on after attaining the powers of the Summer Maiden

Pigmallion is just looking at the corpse of Psyche. She's holding a Fire Dust Crystal on her hand, but she's gripping onto it like she would die if she let loose

"Pigmallion...."

"I know....I just....need a moment"

"Pigmallion, we don't have a moment, we have all of Vacuo on us"

"I KNOW GAMBIT!"

"Then do it"

"JUST GIVE ME A FUCKING MOMENT!!"

She yelled. Gambit then started heading back to where the previous Summer Maiden was impaled at. He immediately pulled her down and put the Kusagirama that was used right on the chest of Psyche's corpse

"Alright. There's your moment. You know that's how our service is"

Pigmallion slowly hovers her hand over Psyche's body

"I can't...."

Gambit starts to slowly walk towards her

"Gambit, I can't....I just....want to be with him a little longer"

Gambit then stands next to her

"You know you will be. Just fight a little longer"

Pigmallion closes her eyes beneath her mask. She drops the crystal on Psyche. It breaks, lighting the corpse on fire

A student comes in screaming from the hallway, Gambit uses the Maiden powers on him, sending him flying into the classroom in front

"Let's go. Huntsmen are here"

Pigmallion reluctantly follows Gambit, summoning her drones on both of them

Both of them walk slowly. Gambit barely limited themselves to use a Wind Element to deflect any projectile's while Pigmallion used her drones to fire at anyone that dared to get close

They walked until they reached a hidden elevator close to the Headmaster's office

It wouldn't open unless the Headmaster inserted a certain key, although it wasn't much of a problem as Pigmallion quickly deciphered the mechanisms of the elevator

After that, one quick underground trip and into the Summer Vault and they had the Sword of Destruction right in front of them, floating over a pedestal

The Sword of Destruction is able to cut through everything its blade touches. That's also a problem when it comes to storing the blade, as everything includes walls, solid rock and even mountain bedrock. Nothing was able to stop the blade from passing

Because of this, gravity Dust or the use of a levitation semblance was necessary to effectively store it, as the Sword was only able to cut through tangible objects

Gambit sprinkled some gravity dust into a sheet then wrapped it around the sword, leaving it floating inside a silky shell that they then strapped across their hips

"There. We can leave now" said Pigmallion

Gambit went back with Pigmallion and closed the vault

"What could you get from this vault's mechanisms?"

"Nothing useful. Whoever made this rigged it so that only the appropriate Maiden can make the gears rotate in a certain, very specific sequence. They are...or were smarter than probably any human"

"Well. Maybe save this for later. Right now, we have to get out of Vacuo and go back with what we have"

Gambit and Pigmallion returned to the surface. Right outside the Headmaster's office, the boy that jumped on them was crawling towards it, but then froze like he saw a ghost once they came out of the elevator

"Hmm. Seems we have a fighter"

Pigmallion just sighs and directly walks past him

"I will join you...later" said Gambit

Gambit's voice changed into a male tone, but....it wasn't the one Pigmallion was closer to

"Just do what you feel you need to" she replied, then kept walking

Gambit then grabbed the Crownbreaker again

"Tell me. Any reason you fight, boy?"

The boy spit out some blood

"Hmm. What's your name?"

"Nolan...."

"Well. To whoever you expect to see in the other side....I hope you can tell them you fought with bravery"

"Not...quite"

Then, Gambit shoots Nolan point blank. He then keeps the Crownbreaker back under his cape and starts walking down the hallways of Shade again

Gambit quickly caught up to Pigmallion

"Sorry...."

"Don't say anything. Let's just get out of this place"

They kept on walking silently until they walked out of Shade...and eventually blended within the citizens of Vacuo

Some days later, somewhere in the desert, Gambit and Pigmallion would see 2 very particular figures walking towards the city. One was a gray haired young man. The other was an obviously enhanced Scorpion Faunus

The figures recognized them too

Both parties slowly approached one another until they were face to face

"Well well, hello strangers....Mind explaining what could possibly be happening in Vacuo? That smoke column isn't looking any good" said the Scorpion Faunus

"Well....Word on the street has it that somebody attacked the Academy. Whoever did it must have been very clever or very stupid" responded the one on the front, a woman

"What? Who in their right mind would do such a thing? Sounds hard to believe" said the younger one with gray hair

"Hmm...Excuse me but...have we met somewhere?" said the Scorpion faunus again

The figures didn't respond

"Hey. My colleague here asked a question, creepy girl. Its not very polite of you to leave him hang-" said the youngling

"Shut up, offspring" responded the one on the back

"What was that? Can't hear you over there!" the youngling replied

"I told you to shut up, Mercury" replied the one on the back starting to walk up

There, Mercury took a step back, given a fright. The figure kept on talking

"What? You didn't think we wouldn't keep an eye on the son of a defector?" said the woman

"Careful. While Mr. Black and I may not be in good terms, I still need him for interests I'm not to disclose with some strangers" said the Scorpio Faunus, looking eager to have a fight

"This goes for you too, Callows. You're only breathing right now because you're still of use to the Commonwealth" said the one that was on the back, hinting his partner to tag along

Callows took a hint and stood back, letting both of them pass by

"We will meet again. Both of you" said the caped man. Both figures would keep on walking towards the dunes, eventually getting lost from the sight of anybody, while Tyrian and Mercury kept walking towards the city


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One's end is never according to what they believe in. In fact, one forges their own end from the very beginning. Be righteous and you will have a noble death. Be maleficent and you will meet a dark fate. But sometimes, the opposite can happen. Or something even worse can ensue

It was a sunny day at Beacon. New graduates were coming in and Belfry was sent along with Samuel to check for any potential threats on the long run for the Commonwealth

"Well. I think I see one that may go on our list"

"Which one?"

"Red Hair, wears armor"

"Hmm. She looks familiar"

"She does. She appears on those cereal boxes"

"And what? We should worry for a mascot"

"Well, in this case, the "mascot" is a star student from Sanctum"

"Alright. Into the list. Who follows"

Belfry joted down some notes then kept on eyeing the new graduates

"Hmm. Atlesian. White hair, expensive clothing"

"One of the Schnees is picking Beacon over Atlas?"

"Well, something like that has reportedly happened earlier. Isn't their chief of staff also a runaway from the Schnees?"

"She indeed is. Into the list"

Belfry joted down some notes

"Hmm. I don't see anybody"

"Wait. Look at that one. Blondie. Next to the red girl"

"What about her?"

"Her gauntlets"

"Are you serious?"

"Well, she must have them for a reason"

"I'm putting her and her sister on the list"

"Wait what? No, just the blondie"

Belfry jots some additional notes down into the notebook then closes it

"You clearly have stuff to learn. First, its not only the gauntlets. That way of dressing, the marks and scars on the knuckles. She's clearly one hell of a brawler. Sure, her gauntlets are one thing, but everyone here has something similar. The red girl, first, is clearly younger than everyone here and second, did you see what she was carrying on the back of her waist?"

"Umm...A sniper"

"Not just any sniper. A heavy caliber custom sniper. That thing is hard to carry even for someone like me. Where did you train again, Samuel?"

"Jörmundgander"

"Well, you maybe should go train some more maybe at Niflheim. Let's go, we have an informant to talk with"

Belfry and Samuel would board the same ship that arrived to Beacon to get back to Vale. Once there, they made their way to a warehouse by the ends of the city. They were greeted by someone wearing a very particular outfit

"Oh welcome to Torchwick and Associates, appreciated strangers. If you could give me just...one moment I'm sure I can find you something of your liking"

"We actually aren't here to buy counterfeit Dust" said Belfry

After that, Roman Torchwick would come forth

"Then, what exactly is that you're doing here?"

"We are here to....purchase other services"

"Well. What other services could those be?"

"Compiling some information on somebody"

"Well that somebody sure must be worth coming to a professional"

"Not precisely...."

Belfry handed Torchwick a notebook, which then Torchwick started to read

"These are....Beacon Initiates...oh wait. I know this one. Fine, I'm taking it"

"Good. Compile as much information as you can and we will pay you a fixed price. What amount that is depends on you"

"Well, I'm sure we can reach an agreement"

A woman would interrupt from inside the Warehouse

"TORCHWICK!!" said the woman

"Umm....leave it at 50000 Lien" replied Torchwick with haste

"Sounds good"

Both sides would leave. But Samuel had a slight doubt

"Umm. Belfry wasn't that..."

"Shut up"

A couple years later, Balisong would be next to Tellerium on the rooftops on Vale as the Grimm invaded the city

"Well, the Atlesian Fleet is taking one hell of a beating" said Tellerium

"Yeah. That Nevermore is putting up quite the fight for such a large target" replied Balisong, looking at the fight with a spy glass

"Aaaand someone got flung off the ship. If not for that umbrella it sure would be an ugly fall"

After some more time, The Nevermore would take flight

"Hmm. It left. Wasn't our informant captive in one of those ships"

"Indeed he is...or was...Wait"

Balisong spots a hat floating off the Atlesian ship

"Definitely was our informant. We have to follow that Nevermore"

Balisong and Tellerium would get on sprinting over the rooftops of the city, as people beneath them ran for their lives

They would follow the Nevermore, catching the hat that fell off along the way, until they managed to kill it in a dark alleyway, but even then it was too late

Torchwick's flesh and bones had been melted by the Grimm's insides. Whatever fate followed after being eaten, it must have been nothing short of a horrible death

Balisong began to search Torchwick's remains but was interrupted by an unexpected visitor

"Hmm. Hey, girl. You maybe shouldn't be here" said Telerium

"Wait. She's Torchwick's pupil."

"Oh...Well....What's your..." he was saying to the girl, but Balisong interrupted him again

"She's mute, Telerium. Just give her the damn top hat and keep on watching. She doesn't have to join him"

"Fine"

Telerium would walk up to the girl, who looked at both of them with equal parts of doubt and familiarity

"I'm sorry. He got....eaten by a Nevermore and fell here"

Telerium would go back after giving the top hat to the girl, who left, devastated by the news

Balisong would pull a data key from Torchwick's body

"What do you think?"

"Hmm. Maybe we can pull a favor on Cipher and get this reconstructed"

"Well for now. Let's just get out of here"

Balisong, in an act of slight pity for Torchwick, broke a Fire Dust Crystal and threw it on the corpse, setting it on fire as both caped figures got lost in the crowds, eventually leaving the city before the Huntsmen could organize properly, getting lost in the chaos of the night

Qrow and Glynda were searching around the city when they found a scorched alleyway

"Well. Whoever that was....it must have been an unfortunate ending"


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You might be wondering what will happen next, don't you?  
> To be honest, writing any more would probably end on clutter. And we don't like clutter  
> I know I am leaving many open doors. What really happened with me? Who is "The Subject"?  
> But wait. Many writings before this were solid. Did you check for any mistakes? Did you make sure everything was logical? Maybe I let something slip and you didn't notice? A sort of text within the text itself?  
> I honestly do not know. Or maybe I know and I'm lying to you? After all, you can not really verify my claims unlike subject 87. You are stuck where you are. I'm stuck here, in Maelstrom  
> I can only live in the present. You on the other hand...live my present and probably my future too  
> That doesn't mean you will get all the answers you want  
> Who am I? What am I?  
> Only solid answer you will get....is the metal I call a face...and the cloth I call a body  
> Time will tell if the rest of the answers come or not, but until then. Keep studying these writings
> 
> -The Man with no name

Long time ago, there were 5 kingdoms in Remnant. 4 of them went to war due to their greed and their thirst for power. One of them, the oldest. Saw the bloodshed develop and decided to intervene in order to put an end to the fighting.

They favored the cause of the West and handed their ancient relics to a mysterious king. Once the time came to claim them back however, the kingdoms turned their backs on them and kept the relics.

As seasons passed, the rest of the kingdoms began to erase any trace of this kingdom. Any contact, any family bonds, any sort of supply. Everything was kept away from this "uninhabited" landmass

The abandoned kingdom slowly succumbed to desperation. Starved to death. Stranded in a harsh land and cut off from the rest of the world, the people slowly began to revolt. With time, the kingdom broke into 4 dominions.

The Viceroyalty of Juno, by the north-eastern coast. The dominion of Volvangar, by the north-western coast. The chiefdom of Suidwes, by the south-western coast and lastly, the land of Dongnan, by the South-eastern shores.

"Or at least that is what the official history reads" says one of the students in Niflheim, defying the professor

"Well, it looks like Sinner has a doubt regarding the history of our nation" replies the professor

"Well, lets see. You say "Chiefdom" of Suidwes but Suidwes actually always had governors. You say land of "Dongnan" but it was rather ran by warlords that organized a council, which would make it a federation"

"Ah...Well, those are but minor details. Especially since now all of these are states, Pupil"

Sinner returned to their seat until he picked up a radio signal

"Orantes to Sinner. How copy?"

"Solid copy, Orantes. What do you have?"

"3 Grimm. Beowulfs. Can you see them?"

"Yeah. By the cliffside"

The professor takes some notes

"Shoot one and I get the other. Manzula will take the last one"

"I think maybe we shouldn't let Manzula take that last one"

"Just shoot one. I have the one on the left"

"I take the one of the right, since the treeline covers the other two"

"Alright. Over and out"

Sinner picks their carbine and aims down, right at the Beowulf

After some shots and a small brawl in the forest, the teacher blows a whistle

"Alright. Sinner, congratulations. You graduated. Come on, we're burying your teammates"

Sinner simply gets up and follows the professor. They walk down from the hill and into the treeline. They find the dead Grimm along with the corpses of Orantes and Manzula

The professor hands Sinner 2 Fire Dust crystals

"As any good reaper, you have to send them with your fallen brethren. Burn the bodies"

Sinner, with no doubt, breaks and throws the crystal's at both bodies after taking the weapons off them

"Good. Decision. Something useful"

The professor then hands Sinner a ceramic mask. It is black but very ornamented

"As of this moment, you are now Reaper Oculus, as your team was called"

"Thank you, Professor"

"Not Professor anymore. You and I are now the same. Reapers"

"Alright. Reaper Manticore"

"Good. Now, you're free to leave. Command will assign you tasks directly now. Until we meet each other again"

Oculus put on their mask and shouldered their rifle, then started walking on their way out of Niflheim, when they got a message on their pad

"Reaper Oculus. Join fellow Reapers at Trolesund. A manhunt has been initiated"


	18. Chapter 18

Somewhere in Mistral, the Ace Ops were wandering some hours away from Argus. They had been sent to check reports of Dust trafficking that would be linked to a possible White Fang attack

The team was looking over from a cliff down at an abandoned outpost, where a White Fang convoy had stopped

"So. What can you see, Tortuga?" asked the leader of the Team, Clover Ebi

"Not much worth it. Dust crates of course but...something is wrong, they are not guarded"

"Wait. What? Why aren't they?" asked Elm

"I'm not sure. But something tells me that we are stepping into something darker that we think. Wait...I see someone"

"How do they look?" asked Harriet

"Caped. I can't see their faces"

"White Fang?" asked Clover

"No. These are different. They don't have any emblems I recognize"

"New organization?"

"I assume so. In any case, they seem to also be interested in taking that Dust. They're opening the crates"

Clover then sets up along with Vine and Harriet

"Elm, provide overwatch. Shoot on my mark, we have to secure that Dust"

"Copy"

"Tortuga. With me"

Tortuga then tags along with Harriet and the team begins to dash along the trees, to prevent anybody from seeing them

Some shots would come from the convoy, but not at them

"Elm we have shots fired here, what can you see?" said Clover through the radio

"Same caped figure but...it is engaging with White Fang. Should I pull the trigger?"

"Not until it is absolutely necessary"

Clover and the rest of the team reached some bushes. They see the caped figure, brandishing one wide tonfa blade as he approaches a White Fang conscript, who's crawling, trying to escape

The figure simply impales the conscript, killing them immediately, then turns at the Dust crates

"Targets dealt with. Securing the crystals. Meet me at Argus"

Then, he hears a branch crack

"Wait. There are remaining hostiles"

The caped figure immediately turns the Tonfa blade into an Assault Rifle and aims at the bushes

"Elm pull the trigger!"

Before Elm could pull the trigger, Clover and his team were already taking a hail of bullets. Then, Elm shot a couple rockets, blowing up the trucks and the Dust crates with them

Tortuga and Harriet take on a battle formation. The Ace ops have the caped figure surrounded

"So. The mighty Atlesian Ace Operatives have come to...stop a simple Dust smuggling convoy that got jumped on? That doesn't seem logical to me" said the cape figure, brandishing a deep male voice

"Well, something tells me you're not precisely a Dust smuggler" says Clover

"At least one of them is smart. I'm assuming you're the team leader"

"What tells you it isn't me?" says Harriet

"Well, from the looks of it, you're a bit of a short fuse, so a fire-head wouldn't cut it. Nor would a passive Aura extender or a demolitionist"

"Although maybe one of you could match up" says the caped figure, turning at Tortuga

"You, on the other hand may be slow, but surely must be more methodical"

Tortuga then pulls out some Brass Knuckles

"The proper weapon for someone like you. Let's put you to the test then"

The caped figure then proceeded to charge at Tortuga

First one to step in between them was Elm. She switched her rocket launcher into a hammer and activated her Semblance, getting apparently stuck on the ground as she charged a swing

The caped figure aimed at Elm as they ran but then switched the assault rifle back into a tonfa blade

Vine entangled the caped figure as Elm attacked, immobilizing them, but then, the impossible happened

The caped figure bent back, dodging the swing, then returned to normal just to switch their tonfa back into a rifle which they then used to shoot Vine

Vine felt the bullet hit them as it drained their aura, immediately disrupting their entanglement, freeing the hostile, which then began to face off against Elm

Elm was tough, but even there, she wasn't taking the hits from the Tonfa blade lightly. Said blade had something that made it hit harder than what Elm could resist. And then, the killer blow to the liver, making her immediately drop to the floor, her Aura completely shattered

The figure was in the midst of killing it but was interrupted by Tortuga and Harriet attacking simultaneously. While Harriet got immediately blocked off by the Tonfa blade, Tortuga managed to land some good punches on the caped assailant, making them tumble

"Well. I was right, you sure do have something. Those were very well placed hits"

Harriet jumps at the assailant, which then performs a weird dodge. They dislocated their hips, allowing for a full turn of their torso. They quickly turned and caught Harriet mid-air then returned to normal and, with the centrifugal force of the abrupt spin and Harriet's hyperspeed, slammed her on the ground, leaving her knocked out and immediately concussed

Vine stood back up and pulled Hare and Elm to safety then stepped forth to try and entangle the assailant again, but failed. The assailant shot Vine again, which yet again broke the Aura extension. But somebody else was able to catch them

Clover had entangled the assailant using Kingfisher's chord, even able to land the hook on the magazine release of the Assault rifle of the caped figure.

"Hmm. Somebody has a luck semblance. Now I see why you're the team leader"

Then, the caped figure pulls the chord, pulling Clover in, which "inadvertedly" left Tortuga an opening to attack

Tortuga immediately went for a strike against the caped figures chin, but then....

The caped figure, as their torso spun while trying to pull in Clover, kept spinning, performing a 360 degree turn. 

They dropped the tonfa blade and immediately went for a butterfly knife. Clover saw what was coming. 

The caped figure's arm, now revealed to be synthetic, aimed the blade right at Tortuga. He tried to pull the caped towards him, but by the time the kinetic momentum of the figures pull was countered by his, Tortuga took one lethal blow of the knife right between his eyebrows, which instantly killed them.

Harriet woke up with Elm's help, only to see as Tortuga's corpse dropped to the ground with a knife on its forehead

The caped assailant then broke Kingfisher's chord and landed one punch on Clover's nose, leaving them enough time to drop a smoke bomb. After that, there was no trace of them but Tortuga's corpse

Harriet crawled towards Tortuga as the Ace Ops heard some Mistralian ships headed towards them

All the while, the caped figure looked at them from the nearby cliff. Another figure approached them

"So. Dust destroyed?"

"Yes. And one Ace Op off the table"

"Wait. That wasn't-"

"I know. Let's just leave"

Both caped figures left in the darkness of the night, while the Ace Ops, having been on a classified assignment, had to leave Tortuga to burn with what remained of the White Fang convoy, stripped of his dog tags, his uniform and weapons in order to leave no trace


	19. Chapter 19

Irina would be sitting on her office. She would be looking out of her window. It was a windy day. Gray, cloudy sky and some flakes, but everything else would be as usual.

Down in the street, Reapers patrolled the streets. Civilians walked around the downtown of Mossholm, their heads mostly leaned downward. A couple was stopped by a Reaper patrol. They were inspected

"So. Your Excellence..." asked a guest, who had been waiting on the entrance, standing firmly. Both hands behind his back

"Yes?"

"You wanted to see me?"

"Indeed. I want to know how your subjects are going, Selestina"

"Well. We have seen great deals of progress. Implanted Semblances and Jordensblod Injections have surely been a success. I take great pride on Subjects 40 to 67"

"What about that other Subject?"

"Oh. She is playing her part. Wasn't that Atlesian General here last week?"

"Indeed he was. We had a...particular conversation. Now all we have to do is wait for that subject of yours to get us where we want. Once there, those Atlesian synthetics will be on your hands"

"Well. For now, I was wondering. We are combat ready. All Reapers and Executioners are very well prepared to take on any army. Why keep on waiting?"

"Simple. Because of that woman"

"What?"

"The more she keeps on exhausting the Atlesian Army, the less chances of failure there are. And the more rebellions that we can quail after the initial conflict"

"I see...Excuse me, Your Excellence"

"It's alright, Selestina. You're a person of methods and numbers. So you are prone to...skip over the longer term plans"

"Now. What about Subject 87?"

"He is stable. Although we don't know if he can still make use of his abilities"

"When was the last time he used them?"

"2 months ago. He claims to have seen...something else. Something that he described as a negative to our world but...deeper"

"Has he seen anything else?"

"Many things. But that conversation would be better suited for when he is in full control of his power"

"Now. About the Vacuan Relic. What did you get from it?"

"Not much. We are having a hard time studying it because of the blade. We may need more personnel from the Schwerkraftkorps , if not for a bigger supply of Gravity Jorgensblod"

"I'm assuming it is because of the blade's properties?"

"Indeed. Anything it touches is pulverized immediately, although it only goes for the edges of it. The cheeks are able to be touched but, again, its hard to keep it afloat for long enough to study it"

"I can allocate for some of those necessities you cited earlier"

"Now...What about the other relics?"

"One of the BIFROST teams located the Crown. Problem will be extracting it. It is mobile"

"Mobile? It grew legs?"

"Not precisely. It's storing vault is apparently concealed. Hidden in plain sight"

"May I..."

"Yeah. I'll send you the information"

"Now...The lamp...is in Evernight. And the Staff?"

"Still in Atlas...and hopefully it remains there until the Atlesians make their assault on Evernight. Once they obtain it, we are seizing it"

"Now...One last thing. Apparently the...defector's kid is in Vacuo"

"Woah. That was one hell of a skip for them. What drove them to the dunes?"

"Derrelict woman"

"Alright. Then...who is with him?"

"Callows. Ah. I just think we should get rid of them"

"Not yet. They can still keep the spotlight off our doings"

"Ah...That's true indeed. Well, I guess I should be on my way then. If that is all you wanted to talk with me about"

"Yes. That was it. You can leave now"

Selestina then salutes and heads for the exit

Irina returns to look at her window. The couple from before had been executed. A cleaning unit was taking their bodies into a truck

"There where the State ends, the superfluous person begins..." says Irina

"...And only those non-superfluous are to live" replies Selestina back, then leaves


	20. Chapter 20

Crystal would return back to his home at Mossholm, at one of the more urban, middle class districts. It was a 2 bedroom apartment he was living in, but not on his own

"Hey Darling" said a woman who went to receive him as he arrived

"Ela! Hey" he answered with familiarity

"Just fine. Tough day at work?"

"Yeah. Ahh...." said Crystal, placing his hand on his only remaining eye

"Here, I will walk you"

Crystal let Ela walk him to the bathroom, where he would then take a sip of syrup right from a bottle

"Ah jesus"

"Just how long did you use your Semblance for?"

"Quite a while actually. Had to perform a full trip in and out of Beacon with it"

"Didn't you rest on the way?"

"I would have, but there were so many Vale patrol vessels I just couldn't"

"Ah. You're lucky that the train got here quickly"

"I didn't. Had to stop by Jormungandr to get a quick supplement just so I could make the ride here"

Crystal's semblance had a problematic downside. By reflecting light away from certain surfaces, he was redirecting that additional light to his eyes, which slowly damaged his eyesight. That's how he lost his left eye

"At this rate, I'm going to need to commission Nero some of those prosthetics"

"Well, for now, you maybe should just rest"

Crystal headed towards his bed next to a crib. He picked up his baby

He carefully opened one of the baby's eyes while trying to avoid waking him up

The sclera was black

"Ah..."

Ela walked in

"Dear...You know he won't change eyes from one day to the other"

"I know....its just that....He doesn't deserve this"

"I know. I know you don't want him to have your Semblance, but you already saw he has my eyes"

"But...that doesn't stop him from getting my Semblance...."

Crystal had to calm down for a minute, just so he could place his baby back on the crib

"All I want for him is to be able to see his life unfold before him as clearly as he can. To be able to grow up like a kid and not like a soldier...."

"Crystal...."

"To be able to see his friends, his mom, his couple, his own family...as clearly as he can get it. Unlike his father"

Ela places her arm on Crystal's shoulder

"I know. Which is why I'm always grateful for what you're doing. Everyone is. How did things go at work again?"

"Not great....More...unnecessary killing"

"Remember what the great leader says..."

"Yeah. Not unnecessary if it is for our cause but....those people didn't deserve to die. They were children"

"What do you mean?"

"I was put on routinely patrol since team GMBT is on standby until the situation at Sanus calms down. We were patroling around Jottunheim with Cipher and Gambit until we came across some kids grabbing one of the food crates from the Collective truck"

"Oh...So"

"Yeah, Gambit pulled the trigger on them"

"Oh dear....God of Light"

"And he didn't even fucking hesitate. He literally ripped the box off of one of the kids hand's without any gesture then called us to continue patrolling as if nothing happened"

"Okay. Want something to drink? Maybe we can just calm down for a bit and...maybe watch one of the movies that the Collective gave us for this week? One of them looks to be a good mystery movie"

"Ah. Fine. I'll take the cape off and wash my face first"

"Okay. I will wait for you in the couch"

Crystal got up and removed their cape. Then the webbing. Then the protective vest and the rest of the armor plates and protections

After that, he slowly removed his mask. After that, he let out a breath of relief until he saw one of those same kids that Gambit killed earlier on the corner of his right eye. He blinked and closed the closet door.

Crystal then put on his eye patch. It was black but had the logo of Juno printed on it in full white to contrast with the patch

It was a laurel wreath with 4 stars in it. Right on top of it, a cross of knives and a crown on top of it. And on top of it all, a label with the official motto of the government. Glória et impérium

"Ah...I think the trauma scars are going to hit me from that....experience"

"Should we ask the Collective people for some extra medicine?"

"I think so. And some more maternity supplies"

"Do you think they will grant them? My leave ends next month"

"They will. I will ensure it"

Crystal and Ela head for their couch and hit play on the movie

The "Atlas Entertainment Ltd." logo shows up then music begins rolling up but gets quickly replaced with the logo of the "Maelstrom Collective" in an obvious last minute edit

"Man, these editors really suck at their job"

"You missed the one from last week. They took 15 seconds to cut it out. They must have gotten somebody that actually knows what they are doing. This was 2 seconds, so that's record time"

"Sometimes I honestly wonder if I should get a mission on Atlas on purpose and get us one of those cool editing things they use there"

"Can't you get it anywhere else?"

"Nope. Atlas ones have some features that others don't....at least that is what Fortune told me"

"Fortune?"

"A Reaper from team FILM, they got assigned to the Collective"

"Oh okay"

The movie begins. Apparently it is about this guy who is going about his day, working at a company called SafeCons that does some digital services for the Schnee Dust Company, then one day meets this other guy who teaches him that the S.D.C is buying people in the council to get themselves some political favors and so he decides to hack the S.D.C in order to help the people. He always breaks the 4th wall apparently, since he opens the movie by saying "Hello Stranger" and continues talking in between important scenes. While in camera he does nothing, the monologue plays while they do something, speaking about how elections in Atlas are bad and always used to keep people in Mantle with little to no power in politics and how every person in both places just buys without restraint

"Daaamn....This is some real criticism. How did the Atlas Council not shoot it down?" says Crystal

"I'm guessing that it may be a perk we don't have. Not going to call it to question, not like we can do much"

"Eh. I guess. At least they can criticize their government"

"Well. You just did"

"Openly. Like that, like...making books and movies and stuff about it"

"It's not like we can't do that here"

"We could...but again, we also need food and stuff"

"Yeah"

The movie continues. The hacker eventually frames an SDC executive for his hack but attracts the attention of Stephan Wesker, a high executive that has a lot of power and offers the guy a place in the executive board,but the guy refuses. After that he joins a hacker group and meets some other cool people and discovers that the guy he met at the beginning is also a member. In fact, that guy is the leader of the group and everyone acts very familiar around him, like he was an old friend, which is a little weird

"Hmm. Strange. Didn't something similar happen before on that park?" said Ela

"Yeah. There must be something we are missing"

The guy and the group of hackers eventually come up with a plan to take down the SDC and mess up the economy badly enough that Atlas will be reformed...after suffering a lot that is. And after some shenanigans they pull it off. Stephan Wesker is arrested but, the hacker that originally recruited the guy at the start is revealed to have been an imagination from the guy himself and, all the time, he was the leader of the hacker group. And with that, the movie closes, promising a sequel

"Wow. 2 hours of movie for this?!" said Crystal

"Well. It was a cool plot twist. Hopefully the Collective brings the sequel next week, I really wouldn't want to miss it"

Crystal gets up and stretches a bit

"Don't worry. I know someone who can get us that movie"

Crystal heads for the changer and begins switching out his clothes. He sees the kid again, just looking at him from the same place he was standing at when he first saw him


	21. Chapter 21

LANGUAGE USE WARNING

\---

Gambit returns home. Blood covered, as always. They would simply remove their cape then head right for the shower, removing the rest of their clothing as they went

Gambit lived in the suburbs of Veofolnir, an area up the nearby hills on the north. It was an area where usually those of upper-middle class lived, mainly bankers and some Collective office personnel. Unlike most military members like them, Gambit had been granted a house personally by Irina.

"Hey Gambit"

"Shut up"

"Ooh...Frisky today aren't you?"

"I said shut up"

"Hey. Those kids were breaking the law, I simply did what we know best"

"Yeah. And? Does that make it any better?"

"Well. Of Course!"

"What do you mean "of course"? Those were children"

"Yeah. Children who were robbing a Collective Food Truck"

"Well. They must have needed that food for a reason, don't you think?"

"Yeah, like....Selling it in the black market like you did?"

Gambit opens the water, mask still on

"Shut up. We only did what we needed to back then"

"And that's exactly what I did now. I see a crime, I take care of it my way"

"Your way? You mean the way paved with bodies?"

"Yeah. It happens to also be the fast track"

Gambit closes the water

"Oh and just because of that, we can kill who we want?"

"Well....He isn't wrong"

"Oh please shut up"

"What? He isn't completely wrong. Law states it clearly. Shoot on sight"

"Oh so because it was our job its okay to kill children?"

"Yes" "Yes"

"OF FUCKING COURSE NOT!"

"We are supposed to protect our fellow country-people, not kill them for....trying to feed themselves"

"Yeah. And we are. We simply are exterminating those that, out of their selfishness, take from our collective wellbeing"

The doorbell rings

"Collective Delivery" could be heard from the door

Gambit quickly puts on some clothes then heads for the door

"Hello Sir" said the delivery guy

"Hello..."

"Here's your...delivery. Are you okay, cape isn't looking up to scratch"

"Just give me my package, I'm starving"

The delivery guy gives Gambit a couple boxes. They then signs the receipt and close the door back

Inside, there was food and liquids for the week, some books, some alcohol and medication

"Don't take it"

"Don't take it"

"Take it"

"Don't take it"

"Don't take it"

Gambit quickly grabs the flask and begins opening it

"DON'T FUCKING TAKE IT!!"

"TAKE IT"

"DONT TAKE IT!"

They take the lid off of it and pours a couple pills on their palm. He plucks them into their mouth after lifting the mask a bit

Everyone is gone. Gambit is alone again, but it doesn't matter. They finally have time for themselves

Gambit shelves the flask into a cabinet in the bathroom then keeps on unpacking what they received

A particular book catches their attention

"Wait a minute..."

It wasn't his usual guide. It was....a light novel

"The Man with Two Souls?"

"What is that?"

"WHAT IS THAT SHIT DOING IN OUR PACKAGE?!"

"ITS A TRAP, IT MUST HAVE POISON"

Gambit checks the label on the package. It was Crystal's package

"THE NOVICE'S BULLSHIT IS ON ME?!"

"It must be rigged, check for mechanisms"

"Well, I mean. You could keep it"

"ITS A CRIME. CALL THE NOVICE, TELL HIM TO GRAB HIS SHIT"

"Calm down. It doesn't look rigged"

"Well, we still shouldn't keep it"

"ARE YOU ALL SERIOUS?!"

"Shut up"

"Well. Doesn't hurt to hold it. Maybe we can read it then call Crystal and tell him?"

Gambit heads for the phone. Book in hand

"Call him"

"Don't call him"

"JUST DIAL HIS NUMBER AND GET RID OF HIS STUFF"

Gambit just dials the number and calls Crystal

"Hello?" replies Crystal on the phone

"Hey. It's Gambit. I think the Collective messed up again and gave me your package"

"Yeah. Was just about to do the same thing. One of my packages has a guide on explosives. Not my type of literature"

"So....Actually....Mind if I borrow your book? Looks like an interesting read"

"You opened my book?"

"It's not what you think it is"

"It's alright. Just return it once you finish it, but tell me a thing from it and I'm blinding you"

"Good....Crystal"

"Yeah?"

"About....that incident"

"It's fine. Don't talk about it"

"Are you..."

Crystal hangs up

"WELL DONE, DICKHEAD"

"We were just trying to check in"

"Well, he surely is scarred from it"

"Gotta fix it"

"YOU CAN'T FIX IT. UNLESS YOU CAN REVIVE PEOPLE OF COURSE, WHICH YOU CAN'T"

Gambit simply keeps on reading. They sit on their bed and continue reading calmly


	22. Chapter 22

**LANGUAGE USE WARNING**  
\---  
Cipher was chilling in his sofa late into the night when he heard somebody knock on his doorbell  
"One moment...."  
He slowly got off the sofa and put on some proper clothes. Then he walked up to the door  
He leaned in to peek through the peephole. It was Pigmallion. Cipher immediately opens up  
"Pigmallion...."  
"Cipher, can I come in?"  
"Are you coming for his things again?"  
"No. There was a hailstorm and the ceiling broke, can I stay here?"  
"Why should I?"  
"Cipher, what the fuck kind of question is that? I already told you, there was a hailstorm and the ceiling broke back at my house"  
"Yeah. Like that hailstorm you let on him, right?"  
"Excuse me?!" said Pigmallion, obviously angered at what Cipher just said  
"Excuse me what? You let him die back there, didn't you?"  
Pigmallion immediately punches Cipher right on the liver  
"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?"  
Cipher just crawls back as Pigmallion makes her way into his apartment. She grabs him by the collar of the shirt he was wearing  
"YOU REALLY THINK I PURPOSELY PUT MY DRONES DOWN FOR HIM TO DIE, ASSHOLE?!"  
Pigmallion punches Cipher again  
"Huh?! Answer, you fucking booze barrel with legs"  
Another punch. Cipher's nose starts to bleed  
"I SAID FUCKING ANSWER!"  
Cipher would have, but between the punches and trying to catch his breath back from the first punch, he just stayed silent as Pigmallion threw another punch  
"You think I didn't love him?! That this doesn't hurt as much as it hurts you too?!"  
Yet another punch. Pigmallion knocks out one of Cipher's fillings. The fake tooth drops to the carpet  
"Tell me. Tell me before I leave you worse than Gambit"  
"Oracle....Stop...Please"  
Pigmallion holds back the punch she was throwing. Oracle....Even if it has only been a week, it feels like an eternity since she was last called that  
She then starts crying. A bottle drops to the floor  
"You were drunk again....Weren't you?"  
Cipher just looks away. Pigmallion lets go of his collar  
Cipher just heads for the couch, while Pigmallion goes and closes the door  
"His room is unlocked....If you want to. If not, mine is right across the hallway, I can sleep here" said Cipher, while he went for some ice in the fridge  
"Cipher....I"  
"Don't. You said what you had to, when you needed to. At least you can do that...."  
Pigmallion goes with Cipher  
"I...actually know who it was. We could....try and...pull some favors"  
"Are you serious?"  
"What?"  
"Do you really think this is what he would want? For us to go on our own just to find one ...Huntsman among the countless there are in Vacuo to get revenge AFTER WE LITERALLY JUST RAIDED SHADE ACADEMY AND BEACON ACADEMY?!"  
Pigmallion just lays in silence  
"He used to tell me you were very responsible. That you would nag and lecture him every time he forgot to clean his cape so that it would be pristine for the inspection....But this....This is not who he used to speak about"  
"I thought....you might want to know"  
"And do what? Go AWOL on a personal vendetta? Like it would fucking revive him....We are better than that. Remember team GRMM?"  
"Yeah"  
"Well. Guess what happened"  
Cipher heads back to the couch, while Pigmallion checks the refrigerator. There is only beer  
"What? Cipher....Explain this"  
Cipher lays silent, having another can in hand  
"Cipher, what the fuck have you been doing with the Collective orders?"  
He doesn't respond  
"I'm reporting you to Sanatorium" said Pigmallion, as she grabbed her pad  
"Well. You sound confident for a Reaper who just beat the crap out of another one off-duty after breaking into their house"  
She stops  
"Ah. Cipher. We went over this. Many times...."  
Cipher then puts the can of beer aside  
"This is not what he would have wanted..."  
"He's gone....So there was no point in continuing my abstinence"  
Pigmallion turns to look at Cipher  
"Every night, he would dump out any beer we got in the deliveries. Sold for extra cash, turned into Molotovs....Whatever you can think of, he just....kept me away from it. Every day"  
Cipher takes a breath and then continues, tearing up a bit  
"And I thought....I could maybe leave it. That maybe....If I just kept going a bit longer this would end.... That I would no longer have to cling onto these fucking things"  
He snaps. And slaps the can of beer on the floor  
"And then....The fighting stopped....That day, when you guys came back. The moment you gave me the news....The fight had stopped. Psyche died, and I think a part of me died with him, because....ever since....I just...."  
Cipher collapses to tears  
"AND THEN GAMBIT GOES ON AND KILL THOSE FUCKING .... GAHHH, FUCK IT. FUCK ALL OF IT"  
Pigmallion goes to try and calm Cipher. His eyes were bouncing everywhere, never focusing in one place. His pupils, dilated. He was in a panic  
"Cipher, look at me. Look at me"  
She pulled him in  
"Cipher. Focus on me"  
"I can't. PSYCHE!!!"  
"Cipher, look at me!!"  
"PSYCHEE WHERE ARE YOU?!!"  
"He isn't here, Cipher. Please, for the love of the Gods, look at me!!"  
Cipher tries to focus. The panic is too strong  
"BABY BROTHEEEERRR!!!! AAAAAAAAAAHHH"  
He breaks down. The neighbor comes in  
"Who are you?"  
"Reaper Pigmallion. Currently on stand-by"  
"Reaper Sigma. Also on stand-by. Is he your teammate.... is he alright?"  
"OF FUCKING COURSE NOT. GET US HELP, DUMBASS"  
Sigma leaves immediately. Pigmallion tries to keep Cipher on the sofa and calm him down in vain, while waiting for the help to arrive. Some minutes later, an ambulance is heard on the street. Cipher had passed out  
Both paramedics present themselves  
"Curator Abimbola. On active duty. What happened?"  
"Panic attack. He hyperventilated then fainted"  
The other curator goes with Cipher to take pulse  
"Curator Abara. On active duty. His pulse is weak...."  
"Get him some digoxin. What happened precisely?"  
"I came here to pass the night. My house is under repairs due to the hailstorm"  
"Alright. So....Tell us your callsign"  
"Reaper Pigmallion"  
"Alright. What is your relationship with them?"  
"He is...the brother of my...late fiancé"  
"Sorry....What's their callsign?"  
"Reaper Cipher"  
"Well. Abara, how is it looking?"  
"Not very well. Aside of the....facial injuries and the pulse, his liver looks heavily damaged, from what the DOC-BOT is telling me. We may need to take him"  
Cipher then comes to back to his senses  
"Don't....Argh..."  
"Reaper Cipher?"  
"I can hear you....umm"  
"Reaper Cipher, we're Curators Abara and Abimbola. One of your neighbors called us to help you. How are you feeling?"  
"Like fucking shit. Ah...."  
"Alright. Are you okay? Anything wrong?"  
"Well. Aside of the pain, nothing really"  
"Alright, tell me about it"  
"Well...."  
Cipher turns to look at Pigmallion  
"I tripped. I was a bit dizzy and tripped"  
"Are you sure? Those wounds don't look the part"  
"I said I'm fine. That's what I remember"  
"Alright. You had a panic attack and fainted...Has this happened before?"  
Pigmallion intervenes  
"A couple times"  
While Pigmallion and Cipher dealt with Abara, Abimbola went to check the fridge  
"Well, this goes way beyond the allowance of alcohol in private residences...."  
Abara turns to look  
"Reaper Cipher, I recall you live alone in this apartment after the passing of Reaper Psyche, correct?"  
"No. She was actually moving in tonight...."  
"Well. This is...still past the allowance for 2 people....but...We may be able to do something about that"  
Pigmallion hands some cash to the curators, which immediately take some of the beer for themselves  
After that, they would leave  
"So....I take it as a yes?" said Pigmallion  
"Yep. Again, if you want, you can pick either room..."  
"I'm picking his room. You need a good night of sleep and the couch won't do"  
Pigmallion helps Cipher up, taking him to bed, then she goes to the room next door


	23. Chapter 23

Oculus was walking along the trenches along with a fellow Niflheim graduate, Reaper Traianus. The War raged on, spreading chaos throughout Remnant as the Faunus seeked equality. Seeing an opportunity for revenge, the Commonwealth sent several battalions as mercenaries to help the Faunus in exchange of certain political advantages once the conflict ended

Oculus and Traianus, along with other Reapears, had been sent to Mistral to help a Faunus front siege the port city of Argus. They were carrying shells for the artillery as said front prepare to break the siege and enter the city

They spot a battery missing their rounds

"Hey!"

The people operating them turn

"Great. Just in time"

Oculus and Traianus place the shells in place

The Faunus load the gun. Dusk is falling and its getting darker, but the trenches remain darkened

"Looks like its time. Leave us here, we will make sure you boys make it into the city unharmed. Commander Tusk is rallying people for the charge. Go!"

"Yes sir!"

Oculus pulls out their carbine, while Traianus pulls out quite the particular set of weapons. Sword and Shield"

"You're going antique?" said Oculus

"Sanctum is in there. Might as well honor them by fighting their way"

"Well. I hope you manage to get to the city without getting shot then"

Commander Tusk comes along the way, several soldiers lined up on the walls, itching to charge

"Great. Just in time. Line up with the men, 2 more minutes and we're leaving"

Oculus and Traianus line up behind a group of Faunus soldiers

"So. We're going with some of the cape bearers, sir? I don't feel sure about them" asked one of the soldiers

"Yes. We are. Even if they aren't here for our cause, they are still helping. They are as much of your brethren as your fellow Faunus, Private"

"Yes, sir"

"ALRIGHT. 1 MINUTE, EVERYONE LISTEN UP" called out the Commander

"ONCE YOU ALL HEAR THE SIGNAL, RUN OUT OF THE TRENCH AND CHARGE TOWARDS THE WALLS. THE CAPE BEARERS WILL SCOUT YOUR WAY, MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW THEM"

Oculus and Traianus immediately headed for the end of the trench facing the city. They climbed up the wall a bit to see outside

It was an empty field. The sun had already set enough for them to be hardly visible but still enough to see

"30 SECONDS, GET READY!!!" called out the Commander again

Then....A whistle. Oculus and Traianus charged outside, with other Reapers charging with them. They immediately headed right towards the wall of Argus

They ran. Walking past meters and meters of tall grass.

When the Mistral soldiers at the wall saw them, it was too late. They heard the sound of cannons firing at the distance while they heard the sonorous warcry of thousands of angered Faunus charging at them.

Gambit and the rest of his team were headed for one of Juno's main cities, Canali. This zone was located right on a Delta, being full of canals, hence the name. The train was just one stop away from Canale's main Station, Stazione di Canali Centrale

"I'm still surprised that you 2 didn't kill each other" said Crystal

"It's what....friends do" replied Cipher

"Novice..." said Gambit

"Hey! Last I recall, that could count as treason"

"Yes but actually no. Anyways, they're alive. It's what matters"

"Anyways, why are we going to Canale? Aren't we supposed to board a ship to Atlas now?"

"Oh, you're taking your combat mask to Atlas and getting killed, aren't you, Crystal?"

"Wait. Are you crazy?! You know the Mascherari aren't cheap, right?"

"No. But I know someone..."

They get off at the Central Station and walk out right into the Main Square. The Carnival was underway. Civilians and Reapers alike were masked up, celebrating the beginning of the Summer. 

They would all be walking around the square until they reached an old, second hand store

In said store, an old man would lay in front, carving masks by hand. Then, he looked up

"Welcome. How may I....Oh. Gambit"

"Arlecchino"

Arlecchino gets up

"So...I take it you're here for a mask again..."

"Indeed. Miss Irina called us to be her escorts in a ... formal meeting in Atlas"

"I see....So...The War is just about to reach the turning point"

"Yes. Just...not the way we hoped for"

"So. 4 masks?"

"Yeah. What do you have?"

"Well. That's something each one can answer in private. You, the Novice"

"Me?" asked Crystal, a bit perplexed, as he beared the same cape as everyone else, excepting Arlecchino

"Yeah you. Come here"

Arlecchino got up from his chair and guided Crystal to the back of the store. Gambit checked out some masks, while Pigmallion and Cipher just waited outside

"So. Tell me, Novice" asked Arlecchino then continued

"What is it that drives you?"

"My newborn son"

"So...You are fighting for those that will come later"

"Yes"

"I see. Clearly you got luckier than I did. At least you have a better perspective of future than this old veteran"

"You're retired from service?"

"Yeah. But that is a story for when we can share them. Right now, you have to focus on your duty"

Arlecchino hands Crystal a very basic mask. It is white. The line of the chin is very straight, almost angular, like a V-shape. Other than that and the exaggerated nose, it had nothing. Then he continued

"This one should suit you better"

"Very particular" replied Crystal

"Trust me. Most men have used these since ancient times. It serves its purpose of elegance, which is what you will need with those Atlesians"

"Thank you, sir"

"Don't thank me. Thank your friend later. You can learn from them. Although .... its on you to be aware of what to learn and what to ignore"

Crystal removes their mask, their eyepatch still on, so Arlecchino could quickly recognize Juno's logo on it

"Oh. So you're from these parts?"

"No. Not precisely. I'm from Iberia. Are you from here?"

"Mmm....Let's say yes"

Arlecchino walks Crystal out. Crystal bags the mask while Arlecchino grabs a couple other masks from a nearby shelve

"Alright. Oracl-" said Arlecchino

"Oh. It's....Pigmallion now" replied Pigmallion with a lower tone

"Oh....My apologies. I wasn't aware"

"It's alright"

Arlecchino handed her a mask that was slightly smaller, but could be easily removed with one hand

"Mutta"

"Hmm. Fancy. Not quite like the Zanni but I like it"

"Cipher...If it still is the name, if that guy from last month updated me correctly"

"Yeah"

"Here. Dottore"

Arlecchino handed him a mask with the shape of a bird's beak

"Well. First time using one of these"

Then, Arlecchino grabs one in particular from a lockbox and hands it to Gambit

It was a white mask

"And here's yours. Volto. Or Larva, as some would call it here in Juno"

"Hmm. It really is a fine craft...Thank you, Arlecchino"

"Don't thank me now. You still have a duty to accomplish with it"

Gambit and the rest of the team would carefully keep their new masks and head out after paying. Crystal would think about what Arlecchino told him

It's on you to be aware what to learn and what to ignore

"What does that mean?" Crystal said to himself, as they headed back to the Centrale


	24. Chapter 24

Irina and her escort boarded an official Freighter to Atlas. Said ship was something of the likes nobody in Remnant had seen before.

It had a shape that resembled the Atlesian Manta, but shared many features with lots of other types of ships from all across the planet. One particular distinction was the sleek, biomimetic design that made the ship resemble the form of a giant crow, down to the mechanical movement of the wings, which could also turn into rotors. Unlike normal ships, this one brandished a golden owl figureheard

Irina brandished an Arial Wine kind of dress, gilded with gold spread out in the pattern of the willow wreath in both the edges of the dress, as well as the waist. She also brandished elbow-long silk gloves

Gambit and their team wore an outfit which was designed for more formal missions

They all brandished formal, black, military uniforms. No ribbon-bars on the chest or service stripes. On the right arm sleeve, at shoulder level, a golden scythe was ominously present, indicating their rank. The difference was the background

Gambit, Pigmallion and Cipher all had a cross of Scythes, indicating that they were Executioners, while Crystal only had one, indicating he was a Reaper.

Aside of that distinction, they all had black shoulder caps hanging off their right arm, which for Gambit it worked perfect, as it covered their robotic arm along with the uniform and gloves they brandished.

But perhaps the greatest distinction was that only Gambit brandished a cowl over their head, while everyone else only brandished the mask on their face, nothing else

And then, there was Selestina, who basically attended in their every day labcoat simply because he wasn't exactly heading for the party

"Maelstrom One. Status?" asked the Air Traffic Control at Atlas

"All good. Clear for landing" replied the pilot back in response

They all landed in the main landing bay for the City, with the Atlesian Army prepared to receive them with full honors

Irina walked out first, being received by the spotlights, the cameras and all of Atlas' media apparatus. Gambit and the rest of the team walked out later. Selestina stayed on the ship as it took off to head to the laboratories

General Ironwood was waiting, alone. With the Ace Ops behind him

"Hmm. Don't we know those soldiers behind the General" Gambit thought to themselves

"Yes. We do. We aren't here to settle personal scores. We are here on duty. Square up and focus"

Irina shook Ironwood's hand. The General then placed his other hand over hers, but then Irina followed by placing her other remaining hand on top

"General Ironwood. Sir"

"Over here"

All around them, the reporters rushed for an exclusive

"People of Atlas. Today we walk towards a brighter future. A future far greater than what we may have envisioned. We have endured the toughest of difficulties, pulled ourselves through hardship.....Sacrificed the dearest things....our closest colleagues, friends, couples and family...We have lost too much fighting the war against Salem" said Ironwood to then continue

"But today, we begin a new journey. Alongside a new ally, a new kingdom, to help us discover new, better ways to overcome new obstacles...and secure our future for those that will come after. Today, Miss Irina Jernhand, President of the Commonwealth of Maelstrom, has offered to help Atlas in this treacherous path towards recovery and, eventually, victory over Salem"

The surrounding crowd cheers as the group walks past the gates of Atlas Academy. From there, they would be escorted towards Ironwood's office. It was. Empty. It looked like it had just been repaired and pristine cleaned before the visit

"Apologies for the aspect. I'm sure you have heard about what went down during the battle, Miss Jernhand" said Ironwood

"I sure have. Nothing short of catastrophic for sure. But, I can tell....You really meant it behind the sacrifices you mentioned"

"We can discuss that more in private. First. Let me debrief your...people about the current situation"

Ironwood indicates everybody to clear the center of the room as the holographic display comes up

Said display shows 14 images of various different people

"So. I'm sure I mentioned this earlier, but 14 of my best Hunstmen defected from Atlas. 7 of them are from Vale. Star pupils from now-deceased Professor Ozpin"

Ironwood focuses on one in particular

"Silver eyed warriors..." says Gambit

"Yes. You know about the story?" asks Ironwood

"We do. Legend has it that they are the only ones capable of either fueling or erasing the creatures of Grimm, as well as the constructs of the Seraphim. Unlike both of them, they possess True Light...."

"Fascinating. Now, this girl in particular is of priority. We have identified her as the leader of what we have nicknamed the Wayward Children"

"Children?"

"Yes. Most of them became Huntsmen before reaching the age of 20. Ruby Rose, the girl in this picture, is just months shy of her 18th birthday, according to salvaged records from Beacon"

"Then they aren't children. They are as good as a full grown huntsman if they made it across the planet without even finishing their training. What about the others...Any relations?"

"Yes. The blonde one. Its her older sister. Her Semblance is...particular. It increases her kinetic energy. Would constitute as a fire hazard under certain conditions"

"So. What about the other 2?" asks Pigmallion

"One of them, the Faunus, is blondie's girlfriend" replies Elm

"The other girl is pretty much stuck around. She's the runaway kid of Jacques Schnee" intervenes Vine

"Alright. What about the Semblances of the others?"

"Well. Schnee's Semblance is hereditary. Glyph Summonings. The Faunus can make elemental replicas to dodge and..."

"The Red Girl has speed..." says Harriet, walking in closer to the table

"And its not just any kind of default hyperspeed. It's speed down to the molecular level"

"It far exceeds most speed semblances we have in our records" says Ironwood

"What about the other 3?" asks Cipher

"The other are another team from Beacon that has a close friendship with them. Team's RWBY and JNR have a particular bond"

"Anything that can explain it?"

"Yes. Originally, Team JNR had 4 members, miss Pyrrha Nikos. Sadly, she passed away at the battle of Beacon"

"So...they are all connected by the loss of their friend"

"Yeah. Although...This one, the blonde guy. We suspect he had a...closer connection to her. We cannot confirm it" says Ironwood, pointing at a blonde man in white armor

"Alright. What about the other 2 of JNR?" asks Crystal

"A couple. Simple as that" says Harriet

"Like...Couple couple or just dating couple?"

"Dating. Why do you ask?"

"I'm married. Asking for clarification"

"Oh. Alright"

"What about this one. Black hair, red eyes. Seems familiar"

"That...is one of our major concerns" says Ironwood, zooming in to that man's picture

"His name is Qrow Branwen. Former Informant for all 4 Headmasters. He killed Clover Ebi during a prisoner escort and betrayed us"

"Hmm. What about their Semblance?"

"Misfortune. Luck Semblance" immediately replies Ironwood

"Alright"

Crystal then stops to notice something

"What about the elderly?"

"One of them...is Doctor Polendina. Used to be one of our best scientists. He deserted along with Robotic Unit P.E.N.N.Y, which is in possession of the Winter Maiden's power. The other...is Maria Calavera"

Gambit, Pigmallion and Cipher all slowly turn to look at her picture. She was now...old. Smaller than what she used to be

"Oh...." says Gambit

"That tells me you may know about her"

"We do but...."

" Maybe skip her for now.  We can take care of a woman like her "  says Irina

"Yes. My apologies. Moving on..."

Ironwood then zooms in on the other 2

"A Canis Faunus" says Pigmallion

"Marrow Armin. Used to be one of my newer Ace Ops....but he abandoned after the Battle against the Grimm ended"

"What about the other one?" asks Cipher

"That. Is Winter Schnee. She used to be my second in command...but then..." says Ironwood, being interrupted by Harriet

"She abandoned the mission. And turned on us after the Battle"

"So. What about this last woman?"

"Miss Robyn Hill. Lost a popular election and turned herself and her followers into Vigilantes that started sabotaging Atlas' projects. We imprisoned her for conspiracy but Branwen helped her escape during the chaos that ensued during the battle, which breached our prison and let them escape" explained Ironwood, the put the office back to how it was before

"So. You want them all captured, General?" asked Gambit

"Only the Silver Eyed girl. The Rest....do with them as you feel fit" said Ironwood

"Yes. General. Your Excellence" said Gambit, looking at Irina

"You can leave..."

"Take the Ace Ops with you. They can be helpful along the way" says Ironwood, as Harriet, Elm and Vine walked towards them

All of the team slowly walked out of Ironwood's office, leaving Irina and the General to discuss in private

"Now.  Would you like to tell me about Atlas, General?"

"Yes, Miss Jernhand"


	25. Chapter 25

**LANGUAGE USE WARNING**

**GRAPHIC VIOLENCE WARNING**

\---

Balisong was training back at Niflheim. They were trying to calibrate the scope of their rifle by trying it on the range

Minerva would walk up behind him

"Hey....Balisong. Do you have a minute?"

He holds his hand in the air for a moment then pulls the trigger

"Missed. A bit to the right should do it. So. What is it now, Minerva?"

"Well. I was wondering....Maybe we can go for something today since....You know...Canale is having the carnival and what not?"

"You know I'm not particularly sociable"

"Yeah. But life isn't just duty, you know?"

"You're too cheery for a soldier. Fine, I'm in"

Balisong would end up calibrating his scope then test it

Oh. Sorry....At least that is what would happen in....special days. Normally, it would either be an invitation to spar or something related to the job

Yeah, I know. I'm breaking it for you. But again. I didn't invite you here. You're reading without my consent so I think I might as well still have the allowance to disturb you

Well. Lets leave it at....You're not wanted here but I'm stuck here with you until I find a way out. Although....Maybe I already did...Just not at this moment you're reading in right now. You have to know where to look

What is your purpose reading these? Filling a void maybe? Releasing frustration? Searching for answers? It's not my concern. So I can actually care less about what that purpose may be

But...maybe there is one answer I may be able to give you. About a certain someone you and I know well. But maybe this isn't the right time to answer those doubts. You know who I'm talking about, don't you? You've known all along

So. While I get you the answer lets see...other times

Balisong and Minerva had been sent alone to a mission on Mistral. Lots of Huntsmen had been reported missing, which was the opening Maelstrom had been waiting for in order to strike Haven and obtain the Relic of Knowledge

"AARGH!! FUCK"

Balisong slashed the Huntsman's face again. They had him tied to a chair

"Don't make this harder for yourself....How do we access the Haven vault?" asked Minerva

"Fuck you"

Balisong shot the Huntsman right in the hand. That was the third time he had to shoot him. Only 7 fingers remained in the Huntsman hands now

"How. Do we access. The Vault. You only have 7 fingers left before you become handicapped"

"Arghh....I really Don't know. Only that fucking lion guy knows"

"Lion guy?"

"Yeah. He's the headmaster but nobody really likes him"

"What do you mean by that?"

"The guy is a coward. Kind of ... ironic for a lion, but what can you really expect from a Faunus?"

Balisong does a couple extra cuts on the guy

"What is wrong with you, you racist motherfucker" says Balisong

"What is wrong with me?! ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS, YOU'RE THE ONE WHO TIED ME TO THE FUCKING CHAIR AND HAS BEEN CUTTING MY...FUCKING FACE FOR THE LAST 4 HOURS!!"

Balisong does another cut then folds the butterfly knife back into the pocket in their vest

"Alright. You don't want cuts? It's fine...." says Balisong, as he pulls out a yellow Dust crystal

"We can do something different until you tell us what we want!" he continued, before impaling the Huntsman hand with it

The Huntsman immediately began shaking, trembling due to the sudden surge of electricity

Balisong held him for 10 seconds with that Crystal, then pulled out

"Ahh...I'm asking again...How do we access the vault?" said Minerva, looking away

"You need to find the Spring Maiden" the Huntsman immediately replied

"What do you mean find? Wasn't she secured at your academy?"

"She escaped. Ever since we haven't found her"

Balisong looked at the guy

"I'm serious....We haven't found her yet. We don't know where she is" says the Huntsman

"Hmm. Are you sure you haven't found her?"

Truth is....they really didn't....But we didn't know back then but...Anyways, not like the man would have lived longer after all that. However. Its actually humorous how everybody is so stubborn and so "tough" until they are faced with inevitable pain. Then....It's only a matter of time, but everybody has a breaking point 


End file.
